Wei Zhang v. American Gem Seafoods, Inc., Delaware Corporation McMi Food Company, a Texas Corporation Harry Lees, a Natural Person

Appellee Zhang Wei (“Zhang”) asserted claims for employment discrimination and breach of contract, contending that he was retaliated against and ultimately fired due to his Chinese ethnicity and nationality. He sued his former employer, appellant American Gem Seafoods, Inc. (“American Gem”), American Gem’s corporate parent, appellant MCMI Food Company (“MCMI” and, together with American Gem, the “corporate defendants”), and MCMI’s president, appellant Harry Lees, in federal district court. A jury found the corporate defendants liable for discrimination under federal law, awarding both compensatory and punitive damages, and found the corporate defendants and Lees hable for breach of contract, awarding lost wages and wages willfully withheld. All of the defendants appealed. We affirm the district court’s entry of judgment on the jury’s verdict.

Factual Background

The factual recitation herein is taken from the evidence presented to the jury.

Zhang Wei, formerly a professor of business and a proponent of Western economic systems at Northeastern University in Dalian, China, came to the United States in 1990 due to the political crackdown following the Tiananmen Square massacre.…