Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR AMENDMENT OF JUDGMENT AND APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES BENNETT, Chief Judge. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND .1168 II. ANALYSIS.1169 A. Prospective Equitable Relief Available Under Title VII.1169 B. Baker’s Request For Prospective Equitable Relief.1170 1. Reinstatement .1170 2. Front Pay .1175 3. Calculation of the front pay award.1184 C. Plaintiff’s Request for Attorney’s Fees.1187 1. Applicable standards.1188 2. Reasonable hourly rate.1189 3. Hours reasonably expended.1195 4. Partial success.1199 5. Calculation of attorney fee award.1202 D. Recoverable Costs and Expenses.1202 III. CONCLUSION.1208 I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND This action arose out of Rita Baker’s (“Baker”) claim that her long-time employer, John Morrell, maintained a hostile work environment and retaliated against her for complaining about that environment and subjected her to disparate treatment. From 1984 until 2002, Baker worked on the plant floor at John Morrell, and, at the time of her constructive discharge, she was a Computer Scale Operator in the defendant’s Sioux City, Iowa meat packaging plant. At trial, she alleged that she was constructively discharged, subjected to disparate treatment and a sexually hostile work environment, and retaliated against for challenging the sexual discrimination she endured at John Morrell — all in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The case was tried to a jury for seven days, beginning on September 23, 2002. The case was submitted to the jury in the late afternoon of October 1, 2002. The following afternoon, on October 2, 2002, the jury returned its verdict. It found in favor of Baker on her claims of sexual harassment and retaliation. The jury also found on both of these claims that Baker was constructively discharged, and, pertinent to her retaliation claim, the jury found that John Morrell had failed to prove its “same decision” defense. On Baker’s claim of disparate treatment, the jury found in favor of John Morrell. In a separate Order dated March 17, 2003, the court disposed of several post-trial motions, including the defendant’s motions for judgment as a matter of law and for new trial and the plaintiffs motion to amend complaint. Presently before the court is the plaintiffs Motion for Amendment of Judgment, in which she seeks an award of front pay, and Application for Attorney’s Fees. The court held a post-verdict evidentiary hearing on April 2, 2003 in order to reopen the record so that Baker could present evidence concerning front pay calculations and so that she could supplement the record on her request for fees. At this hearing, the plaintiff was represented by Stanley Munger and Jay Denne of Mun-ger, Reinschmidt & Denne, Sioux City, Iowa. The defendant was represented by Leslie Stellman of Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz, P.A., Towson, Maryland, and by Scott Folkers, in-house counsel for John Morrell in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Both parties presented evidence at this hearing. In support of her request for front pay, Baker presented her own testimony as well as various tax forms. John Morrell presented the testimony of a representative from Iowa Workforce Development, which is a state job placement agency. After the hearing, the parties submitted briefs in which they summarized their view of the evidence and of applicable law. John Morrell has not timely argued that reinstatement would be appropriate. Neither has John Morrell timely argued that attorney’s fees would be improper in this case. However, it has timely challenged the amount of Baker’s request for both front pay and attorney’s fees. The court will first consider Baker’s request for front pay, beginning with a succinct review of the prospective equitable remedies available under Title VII. Next, the court will consider which future equitable remedies — if any — should be awarded to Baker in this case. And finally, the court will consider Baker’s request for attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses. II. ANALYSIS A. Prospective Equitable Relief Available Under Title VII Title VII, like other federal anti-discrimination laws, supplies broad legal and equitable remedies to make successful plaintiffs whole. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5; see also McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publ’g Co., 513 U.S. 352, 357-58, 115 S.Ct. 879, 130 L.Ed.2d 852 (1995) (discussing various federal anti-discrimination laws and the means of relief available); Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 419, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975) (stating that “[t]he ‘make whole’ purpose of Title VII is made evident by the legislative history.”); Cowan v. Strafford R-VI Sch. Dist., 140 F.3d 1153, 1160 (8th Cir.1998) (acknowledging the court’s obligation “to fulfill the make-whole purposes of Title VII”). Among the myriad of remedies available to individuals who prevail on their claims of employment discrimination are two alternative types of equitable prospective relief: reinstatement and front pay. Newhouse v. McCormick & Co., 110 F.3d 635, 641 (8th Cir.1997). These equitable remedies may be awarded to compensate successful plaintiffs for lost future earnings. Feldman v. Philadelphia Hous. Auth., 43 F.3d 823, 832-33 (3d Cir.1994). The purpose of and method for calculating these equitable remedies have been characterized in largely the same manner whether relief is sought under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., (ADEA), or the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., (ADA). Lussier v. Runyon, 50 F.3d 1103, 1107-08 (1st Cir.1995). The choice of which prospective equitable remedy, if either, should be awarded in a given case is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. E.E.O.C. v. HBE Corp., 135 F.3d 543, 555 (8th Cir.1998); Mason v. Oklahoma Turnpike Auth., 115 F.3d 1442, 1458 (10th Cir.1997); Suggs v. ServiceMaster Educ. Food Management, 72 F.3d 1228, 1234 (6th Cir.1996); Standley v. Chilhowee R-IV Sch. Dist., 5 F.3d 319, 322 (8th Cir.1993); Hybert v. Hearst Corp., 900 F.2d 1050, 1056 (7th Cir.1990). In Ogden v. Wax Works, Inc., 29 F.Supp.2d 1003, 1008-15 (N.D.Iowa 1998), aff'd, 214 F.3d 999 (8th Cir.2000), this court provided a comprehensive examination of reinstatement and front pay as remedies for prospective equitable relief available under Title VII, as well as examined the factors considered in ordering reinstatement and in awarding front pay. Id. The court, therefore, will not expound upon those remedies and factors extensively here. Rather, the court will address the remedies and apply the factors that it enumerated in Ogden in conjunction with Baker’s request for front pay. B. Baker’s Request For Prospective Equitable Relief Baker has requested prospective equitable relief in the form of front pay. The starting point for the court’s analysis of this request is a consideration of whether the “preferred” remedy of reinstatement is appropriate in this case. See Newhouse, 110 F.3d at 641; Brooks v. Woodline Motor Freight, Inc., 852 F.2d 1061, 1065 (8th Cir.1988). 1. Reinstatement Baker contends that an award of front pay, as opposed to reinstatement, is the appropriate remedy in this case. John Morrell did not address whether it considers reinstatement to be a viable option in this case until its supplemental brief filed after the post-verdict hearing. However, John Morrell’s only timely argument concerning whether or not front pay is appropriate in this case is this: Baker is not entitled to an award of front pay because she failed to mitigate her damages by, after she was constructively discharged from John Morrell, choosing to embark on a career at a nursing home facility, which offered much lower pay. John Morrell contends that an award of front pay would effectively be “subsidizing” Baker’s choice to seek work in a lower paying position because she did not seek employment at any other similar manufacturing plants. Before the court may consider the propriety of a front pay award, it must be assured that reinstatement is an infeasible or otherwise inappropriate remedy. See Williams. v. Valentec Kisco, Inc., 964 F.2d 723, 730 (8th Cir.1992) (remanding issue of front pay and reminding magistrate judge that front pay should not be awarded “unless reinstatement is impossible or impracticable ....”) (quoting Wildman v. Lerner Stores Corp., 771 F.2d 605, 616 (1st Cir.1985)). In Ogden, this court identified the following factors that are potentially useful in determining whether reinstatement is an appropriate remedy: (1) whether the employer is still in business, Duke v. Uniroyal, Inc., 928 F.2d 1413, 1423 (4th Cir.1991); (2) whether there is a comparable position available for the plaintiff to assume, Roush v. KFC Nat'l Management Co., 10 F.3d 392, 398 (6th Cir.1993), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 808, 115 S.Ct. 56, 130 L.Ed.2d 15 (1994); Duke, 928 F.2d at 1423; (3) whether an innocent employee would be displaced by reinstatement, Ray v. Iuka Special Mun. Separate Sch. Dist., 51 F.3d 1246, 1254 (5th Cir.1995); Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; McKnight v. General Motors Corp., 973 F.2d 1366, 1370-71 (7th Cir.1992); (4) whether the parties agree that reinstatement is a viable remedy, Ray, 51 F.3d at 1254; Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; (5) whether the degree of hostility or animosity between the parties — caused not only by the underlying offense but also by the litigation process — would undermine reinstatement, Cowan, 140 F.3d at 1160; Ray, 51 F.3d at 1254; Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322; McKnight, 973 F.2d at 1370-71; Lewis v. Federal Prison Indus., Inc., 953 F.2d 1277, 1280 (11th Cir.1992) (citation omitted); Duke, 928 F.2d at 1423; (6) whether reinstatement would arouse hostility in the workplace, Cowan, 140 F.3d at 1160; Ray, 51 F.3d at 1254; Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322; McKnight, 973 F.2d at 1370-71; Lewis, 953 F.2d at 1280; Duke, 928 F.2d at 1423; (7) whether the plaintiff has since acquired similar work, Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; (8) whether the plaintiffs career goals have changed since the unlawful termination, McKnight, 973 F.2d at 1370-71; and (9) whether the plaintiff has the ability to return to work for the defendant employer — including consideration of the effect of the dismissal on the plaintiffs self-worth, Newhouse, 110 F.3d at 641; Lewis, 953 F.2d at 1280. Ogden, 29 F.Supp.2d at 1010. Factors (1) — employer still in business; (2) — comparable position available The first factor in the analysis, John Morrell’s continuation in business, weighs in favor of reinstatement. This is so because the court finds that John Morrell continues to operate the Sioux City plant where Baker was employed as a computer scale operator. See Duke, 928 F.2d at 1423. The second factor — the availability of a comparable position — is a negative factor against reinstatement because neither party offered evidence at the evidentiary hearing on whether or not John Morrell still had scale operator positions open. Moreover, based on the fact Baker testified that she had to bid for the scale operator position for many years before obtaining it, chances are unlikely that the position is still available. See Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; Duke, 928 F.2d at 1423. Factor (3) — displacement of innocent employees The third factor — the displacement of innocent employees — is likewise a negative factor weighing against reinstatement because of the absence of evidence presented on this issue. Given that John Morrell is a unionized plant and that Baker spent so many years bidding into the computer scale operator position, ordering reinstatement would in all likelihood displace innocent employees who had bid into the scale operator position when the position came open after Baker was constructively discharged. Factor (4) — whether the parties agree that reinstatement is a viable remedy The fourth factor — whether the parties agree that reinstatement is a viable remedy — is likewise a negative consideration. See Ray, 51 F.3d at 1254; Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; Best v. Shell Oil Co., 4 F.Supp.2d 770, 777 (N.D.Ill.1998) (turning directly to the issue of front pay after acknowledging the parties’ agreement that reinstatement was not appropriate). Apparently, at least until the post-verdict hearing, the parties agreed that reinstatement was not a viable remedy in this case. Generally, because the parties are in the best position to gauge the feasibility or practicality of the remedy of reinstatement, the court defers to their mutual belief that reinstatement is not appropriate in each case. In this case, the defendant has raised an untimely argument that reinstatement is the proper remedy. The court simply declines to place any weight on John Mor-rell’s argument that reinstatement is appropriate because it comes too late and is, in fact, a switch in its previous position. In any event, and as will be discussed in more detail below, John Morrell’s assertion that Baker could return to John Mor-rell borders on absurd, given the severe emotional damage that John Morrell’s conduct and the hostile environment inflicted on her psychological well-being. Factor (5) — hostility between the parties The fifth factor concerns the hostility caused by the underlying events as well as the attendant litigation. See Cowan, 140 F.3d at 1160; Ray, 51 F.3d at 1254; Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322; McKnight, 973 F.2d at 1370-71; Lewis, 953 F.2d at 1280; Duke, 928 F.2d at 1423. Here, there can be no question that the events underlying Baker’s claims of sexual hostile work environment and sex discrimination have resulted in a substantial degree of hostility between the parties. This is so particularly with respect to Baker’s former harassers at John Morrell. For instance, after she instituted formal complaints against John Morrell, there was evidence at trial that she was mocked for doing so and that one harasser, Brian Murphy, negatively analogized Baker’s complaints to the O.J. Simpson trial. The court is confident in concluding that Baker would not enjoy the respect of her coem-ployees and some members of John Mor-rell management, particularly her former supervisor, Kathi Brown-Rowley. The court recognizes that other members of management would exert considerable effort to welcome Baker and, at least superficially, to ensure that she was not subjected to hostility. Namely, Steve Joyce, the Human Resources Director, was part of the hostile work environment at John Morrell, but, at trial, he demonstrated genuine concern for Baker and showed his desire to see her succeed. Still, the evidence shows that, in spite of Joyce, the hostility at John Morrell would more likely than not continue, as it had for years prior to Baker’s constructive discharge. The considerable hostility in this case among coworkers and some members of management suggests the impropriety of reinstatement and convinces the court that a productive working relationship between these parties would be impossible. Furthermore, assuming that Baker’s principal harassers are no longer John Morrell employees, Baker has been so emotionally damaged by the harassment she endured at John Morrell that it would be unjust and insensitive to place her back in the workplace. Consideration of Baker’s ability to return to John Morrell will be more fully discussed in Factor 9, infra, but her continued emotional distress and the exacerbation of it .that- returning .to John Morrell would cause are relevant to this factor as well and weigh, significantly against reinstatement. Factors (6) — hostility in workplace; (7) — plaintiff’s acquisition of similar work, and (8) — change in plaintiff’s career goals The court is mindful that factors such as whether reinstatement would arouse hostility in the workplace, see, e.g., Cowan, 140 F.3d at 1160; whether the plaintiff has acquired similar work, Roush, 10 F.3d at 398; and whether the plaintiffs career goals have changed since the unlawful termination, McKnight, 973 F.2d at 1370-71; may be relevant to the determination of the propriety of reinstatement. However, the court has reviewed the record in this case and finds that these factors weigh against reinstatement. There was considerable evidence regarding the hostility between Baker and her co-workers. This hostility was not isolated to her main harassers, Jeff Eichmann and Brian Murphy. The court concludes that there is a basis from which to infer that Baker’s return would in all likelihood arouse hostility at John Morrell. Moreover, there is also a significant evi-dentiary basis to conclude that there is a high likelihood, based on John Morrell’s history of failing to remedy Baker’s complaints, that the harassment would begin anew were Baker to be reinstated. The court, therefore, finds this factor to weigh against reinstatement. The court also finds that Baker has not acquired similar work, because Baker is now employed as a certified nurse assistant at a health care facility. Therefore, this factor weighs against reinstatement. Finally, there was evidence regarding a change in Baker’s career goals since her termination. After leaving John Morrell, Baker became certified as a certified nurse assistant (“CNA”) and is enjoying her new fulfilling career. She credibly testified at trial and during the post-verdict evidentia-ry hearing that she would not have realized this change in her career path but for the emotional turmoil and depression that she suffered as a result of the sexual discrimination inflicted by John Morrell. Moreover, she did not change career paths until she was discharged. She testified at the evidentiary hearing that she considers her job as a nurse to be much more fulfilling than her computer scale operator position, but she would have remained at John Morrell until she retired were it not for the discrimination. In McKnight v. General Motors Corp., 973 F.2d 1366 (7th Cir.1992), the appellate court affirmed the district court’s decision not to order reinstatement, in part, because the Title YII plaintiff did not want to return to his former position as a manufacturing plant supervisor because his career goals had changed. Id. at. The district court reasoned: Given Mr. McKnight’s unequivocal desire to be in an entirely different field, reinstatement to his former position is not desirable or realistic. Mr. McKnight could be reinstated to his former position as a manufacturing supervisor. Would the purposes of Title VII be advanced by such an order? I think not. Mr. McKnight’s career goals and aspirations, as presented by his testimony at trial and through his experts, no longer include supervising the manufacture of automobile parts. He wants to be in the financial services industry. Title VII would not be served by placing the plaintiff in a job he does not want. Such a situation would likely cause Mr. McKnight to suffer again from emotional distress. This type of reaction “would ensue independently of any hostility or retaliation by the employer.” McKnight v. General Motors Corp., 768 F.Supp. 675, 680 (E.D.Wis.1991) (citations omitted), aff'd, 973 F.2d 1366 (7th Cir.1992). In McKnight, the change in the plaintiffs career goals weighed against reinstatement. Moreover, front pay was not appropriate in McKnight because the plaintiffs new career was a higher paying one. The facts of Baker’s case counseling against reinstatement are more compelling than in McKnight because it was John Morrell’s discriminatory conduct that prompted Baker’s career change. In McKnight, the plaintiff simply did not want to work in the manufacturing field. Id. Based on Baker’s testimony and on the fact she had continuously worked for John Morrell since 1984 and was the third most senior woman in the company, the court finds that, absent sex discrimination, she would have remained a John Morrell employee and would not have sought work in another career field. Thus, contrary to John Morrell’s assertion that an award of front pay would subsidize Baker’s choice to pursue a lower paying career, consideration of this factor counsels against reinstatement because reinstatement would not further the objectives of Title VII under these circumstances and because John Morrell’s conduct caused Baker’s shift in career goals. Factor (9) — plaintiff’s ability to return to work for employer Perhaps the strongest factor disfavoring reinstatement in this case is the ninth factor — the plaintiffs ability to return to work for John Morrell. See Newhouse, 110 F.3d at 641; Lewis, 953 F.2d at 1280. Baker testified at length during trial to the devastating toll that the discrimination at John Morrell took on her self-esteem, on her self-worth, and on her physical and mental well-being. She suffered from severe depression, anxiety attacks, sleeplessness, mental breakdowns, weight loss, and she ultimately attempted suicide. This testimony was supported by the testimony of Baker’s treating physician, Dr. Muller, as well as by the testimony of her psychiatrist, Dr. Jennings. Under the circumstances of this case, the court finds this factor to be particularly important. The court finds that Baker has suffered a devastating blow to her self-worth, to her self-esteem, physical and mental well-being aggravated by the actions of John Morrell. Reinstatement under these conditions would be counter-productive to John Mor-rell and an empty remedy to Baker. Having reviewed the evidence presented both at trial and during the post-verdict evidentiary hearing, the court is left with the exceedingly firm conviction that reinstatement is not an appropriate remedy in this case. The court will, therefore, turn to Baker’s request for front pay. 2. Front Pay “An equitable award of front pay is generally appropriate when reinstatement must be denied.” United Paperworkers Internat’l Union, AFL-CIO, Local 274 v. Champion Internat’l Corp., 81 F.3d 798, 805 (8th Cir.1996) (citing Williams v. Valentec Kisco, Inc., 964 F.2d 723, 730 (8th Cir.1992)). Baker seeks front pay in the amount of $170,751.40. After being constructively discharged from her employment with John Morrell, Baker worked for a nursing home, Oak Park Care Center, in Sheldon, Iowa. She worked in Sheldon from the time she was constructively discharged in February of 2002 until December of 2002. While employed at Oak Park Care Center, Baker completed training and earned her certification as a CNA. As a CNA at Oak Park Care Center, Baker earned an hourly wage of $8.51, worked full-time, and had benefits. Baker’s brother suffers from muscular dystrophy, and he had moved to Sheldon with Baker so that she could care for him. However, in October of 2002, he became “homesick,” and he returned to Sioux City. Baker followed shortly thereafter and left Sheldon in December of 2002. Baker applied at several care facilities in the Sioux City, Iowa area but was unable to begin working until April 1, 2003. Even though her current employer hired Baker in February of 2003, she did not receive approval to work in a health care facility from the State of Iowa until April 1, 2003. Currently, she works part-time as a CNA at Countryside Senior Living and earns $9.00/ hour. She is not yet eligible to receive benefits at Countryside Senior Living. If Baker were still employed by John Mor-rell, she would be earning $11.45/hour, plus benefits. Baker arrived at the front pay sum of $170,751.40, in part, by assuming that her employer, Countryside Senior Living, will not be able to accommodate her desire to work full-time (40 hours/week) until she has worked there at least three years. As part of her initial training period, which lasts three weeks, Baker will work 3 days/ week. After this training period ends, she will work every other weekend. However, Baker articulated her desire to work full-time to her employer, and she is “very hopeful” that her current position will eventually become full-time. Until such time, Baker assumes that she will be able to progressively pick up open shifts during the week. From May until September of 2003, she estimates that she will be able to work one extra day/week. From October of 2003 through March of 2004, Baker believes she will be able to pick up 2 extra days/week of work. Thus, by October of this year, Baker estimates that she will be working 12 days/month, or 96 hours/month. Baker is also not currently eligible for benefits with her current employer. She testified at the evidentiary hearing that Countryside Senior Living employees are not eligible for benefits until they work 36 hours/week. While Baker asserts in her front-pay calculation exhibit [Pf.’s exh. 12] that she does not believe she will be eligible to receive benefits until she has worked at Countryside Senior Living for three years, she testified at the evidentiary hearing that she will be “basically full-time” in April of 2004. In any event, as part of her front pay calculation, she seeks to recover the dollar value of benefits she would have earned at John Morrell until she receives benefits from her current employer. She estimates the dollar value of these benefits at $300/month. Also factored also into Baker’s front pay calculation is the assumption that Baker, currently 44 years of age, still has twenty years to contribute to the workforce before retiring. In short, Baker asserts that her lost wages are $159,951.40, and when combined with her lost fringe benefits of $10,800.00, the total is $170,751.40. As with the analysis regarding reinstatement, the court will consider factors traditionally approved by other courts in a front pay determination. The court will, therefore, consider the following factors that it enumerated in Ogden: (1) the plaintiffs age, Barbour [v. Merrill], 48 F.3d [1270] at 1280 [(D.C.Cir.1995) ]; (2) the length of time the plaintiff was employed by the defendant employer, Standley, 5 F.3d at 322; (3) the likelihood the employment would have continued absent the discrimination, Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322; (4) the length of time it will take the plaintiff, using reasonable effort, to secure comparable employment, Paolella v. Browning-Ferris, Inc., 158 F.3d 183, 194-95 n. 13 (3d Cir.1998); Kelley [v. Airborne Freight Corp.], 140 F.3d [335] at 355 n. 12[ (1st Cir.1998) ]; HBE Corp., 135 F.3d at 555; Downes v. Volkswagen of Am., Inc., 41 F.3d 1132, 1141 n. 8 (7th Cir.1994); Roush, 10 F.3d at 399; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322; Hukkanen v. Int’l Union of Operating Eng’rs, Hoisting & Portable Local No. 101, 3 F.3d 281, 286 (8th Cir.1993); Shore v. Federal Express Corp., 777 F.2d 1155, 1160 (6th Cir.1985); (5) the plaintiffs work and life expectancy, Paolella, 158 F.3d at 194-95 n. 13; Downes, 41 F.3d at 1141; Roush, 10 F.3d at 399; Shore, 777 F.2d at 1160; (6) the plaintiffs status as an at-will-employee, Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280; Schwartz v. Gregori, 45 F.3d 1017, 1023 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 819, 116 S.Ct. 77, 133 L.Ed.2d 36, (1995); (7) the length of time other employees typically held the position lost, Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280; (8) the plaintiffs ability to work, Lewis v. Federal Prison Indus. Inc., 953 F.2d 1277, 1281 (11th Cir.1992); Ortiz v. Bank of Am. Nat’l Trust & Sav. Ass’n, 852 F.2d 383, 387 (9th Cir.1987); (9) the plaintiffs ability to work for the defendant-employer, Id.; (10) the employee’s efforts to mitigate damages, Paolella, 158 F.3d at 194-95 n. 13; Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280; Downes, 41 F.3d at 1141; Roush, 10 F.3d at 399; Shore, 777 F.2d at 1160; and (11) the amount of any liquidated or punitive damage award made to the plaintiff, Hadley v. VAM P T S, 44 F.3d 372, 376 (5th Cir.1995); Hybert v. Hearst Corp., 900 F.2d 1050, 1056 (7th Cir.1990); Wildman v. Lerner Stores Corp., 771 F.2d 605, 616 (1st Cir.1985). Ogden, 29 F.Supp.2d at 1015. Factor (1) — plaintiff’s age The first factor in the analysis is a consideration of the plaintiffs age. See Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280. At the time of the post-verdict hearing, Baker was forty-four (44) years old. In United Paperworkers International Union, AFL-CIO, Local 274 v. Champion International Corp., 81 F.3d 798, 805 (8th Cir.1996), the plaintiff was awarded front pay for twenty-four years, a time period which was intended to follow the plaintiff until he reached retirement age. The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit did not rule directly on the issue because it reversed the district court’s denial of the defendant’s motion for new trial, but it strongly indicated it would not approve of such a lengthy front pay award because the duration of the award was improperly speculative. Id. The court explained that “[a]n award of front pay until retirement ignores the plaintiffs duty to mitigate damages and the district court’s corresponding obligation to estimate the financial impact of future mitigation. Instead of warranting a lifetime of front pay, [the plaintiffs] relatively young age should improve his future opportunities to mitigate through other employment.” Id. (citing Dominic v. Consolidated Edison Co., 822 F.2d 1249, 1258 (2d Cir.1987)) (internal citation omitted). Like the plaintiff in United Paperworkers International, Baker is relatively young in terms of her expected participation in the labor market. Her age, however, does not counsel against an award of front pay but rather counsels against a lengthy award. The court concludes that Baker’s age is a neutral factor and is more pertinent to consideration of the duration of such an award than it is to consideration of whether an award of front pay is warranted. Factor (2) — length of employment The evidence reveals that Baker was employed by John Morrell for approximately seventeen years. Moreover, she was the third most senior female employee at John Morrell. The court finds that the longevity of Baker’s employment with John Morrell weighs in favor of a front pay award. See Standley, 5 F.3d at 322. Factors (3) — likelihood plaintiff would have remained in her position; and (6) — plaintiff’s status as an at-will-employee The court recognizes that Baker was an at-will-employee. However, the court finds that absent the sexual hostile work environment and discrimination, it is highly likely Baker would have remained in her position at John Morrell until she retired. Although this factor is subject to some speculation, see Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322, in this case, the level of speculation is almost non-existent and subject only to the general uncertainties of life. That is so because any speculation is significantly reduced by Baker’s seniority and by a strong and positive work history while employed at John Mor-rell. There is no evidence to suggest that John Morrell was unhappy with Baker’s performance or otherwise contemplated or desired her departure. Moreover, the undisputed evidence in the record indicates that Baker found her position as a computer scale operator at John Morrell to be enjoyable. Again, this factor indicates an award of front pay is appropriate. See Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280; Schwartz, 45 F.3d at 1023. Factor (4) — length of time necessary to secure comparable employment Baker is currently employed as a CNA. Given (1) her relatively high hourly wage at John Morrell, (2) that she would probably never gain comparable employment because of her lack of education and a specialized skill, and (3) that it took Baker seventeen years in the production field to reach the level of earning she enjoyed at John Morrell, the court is persuaded that Baker would not have been able to find a job that paid as well as her computer scale operator position. At the post-verdict evidentiary hearing, John Morrell elicited testimony from an employee of the Iowa Workforce Development to testify regarding job vacancies in the production field and CNA positions. Only one job paid as much as or more than Baker earned at John Morrell, and the likelihood of obtaining that job was minuscule. The position was highly competitive and demanded skills that Baker did not possess. More specifically, three night-shift production positions were open from December of 2002 until March of 2003 at the Cargill Soybean plant in Sioux City, Iowa and paid $14.77/hour. Applicants for these positions were required to have mechanical knowledge, which Baker does not possess. Moreover, there were 207 applicants for these three positions. The other production positions offered by John Mor-rell at the evidentiary hearing paid substantially less than Baker earned while at John Morrell and were, most often, night-shift jobs only. As a matter of fact, the court finds that John Morrell failed to show that there was comparable available work, either at the time Baker accepted employment at Oak Park Care Center or when she moved back to Sioux City. The unavailability of comparable work supports an award of front pay. See Paolella, 158 F.3d at 194-95 n. 13; Kelley, 140 F.3d at 355 n. 12; HBE Corp., 135 F.3d at 555; Downes, 41 F.3d at 1141; Roush, 10 F.3d at 399; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322. Factors (5) — plaintiff’s work and life expectancy; and (7) — the length of time other employees typically held the position lost The court finds that the fifth factor— Baker’s life and work expectancy, see Paolella, 158 F.3d at 194-95 n. 13 — are neutral considerations in the front pay analysis. Baker testified that she assumed she would work until age sixty-five. She is currently forty-four. The court takes judicial notice that the current life expectancy of a woman is 79.5 years. < http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec. htm >. The court, likewise, finds the seventh factor — the length of time other employees typically hold the position Baker lost, see Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280 — to be neutral in the front pay analysis. No evidence was presented regarding the length of time other employees typically hold the position Baker lost. Regarding this factor, the court is unwilling to speculate and, therefore, considers it to be a neutral eonsider-ation in the determination of the front pay award. Factors (8) — ability to return to full-time work; and (9) — ability to return to work for defendant-employer The court also finds that, even though Baker is able to work full-time at another factory, under no circumstances is she physically, mentally, or emotionally capable of returning to work for John Mor-rell — even if such an opportunity were presented. See Lewis, 953 F.2d at 1281; Ortiz, 852 F.2d at 387; Eivins v. Adventist Health System/Eastern & Middle Am., Inc., 660 F.Supp. 1255, 1263 (D.Kan.1987). In Lewis v. Federal Prison Industries, Inc., 953 F.2d 1277, 1281 (11th Cir.1992), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was faced with an employment discrimination plaintiff who suffered from severe emotional trauma because of discrimination, much like Baker. In that case, the plaintiff rejected the employer-defendant’s offer of reinstatement and nevertheless sought an award of front pay. Id. The court agreed that front pay was appropriate under the facts of the case, reasoning, For our purposes today, however, the most important factor remains the evidence adduced at trial that the discrimination endured by Lewis in effect disabled him. We note in this regard that the Ninth Circuit has recently approved front pay as a remedy where “ ... there is evidence from a mental health practitioner and doctors that [claimant] could not work at all or, as one said, should never work at any branch of the [employer] again.” Ortiz v. Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, 852 F.2d 383, 387 (9th Cir.1988). In this case, the uncontradicted evidence showed that Lewis could not return to his former work environment without suffering a return of the symptoms that so debilitated him in the first place. Id. In Baker’s case, the evidence is clear and indisputable that her mental health condition precludes her from returning to John Morrell. She testified at the eviden-tiary hearing that even encountering former employees in the grocery store makes her uncomfortable and tense. Baker’s doctors agreed that returning to work at John Morrell is simply not feasible. Thus, while Baker can work full-time outside of John Morrell and, in fact, is actively attempting to find full-time employment, she cannot return to John Morrell. These factors, therefore, counsel strongly in favor of an award of front pay. Factor (10) — plaintiff’s effort to mitigate damages “A Title VII claimant seeking either back pay or front pay damages has a duty to mitigate those damages by exercising reasonable diligence to locate other suitable employment and maintain a suitable job once it is located. E.E.O.C. v. Delight Wholesale Co., 973 F.2d 664, 670 (8th Cir.1992). The burden of proving that the employee did not make reasonable efforts is on the defendant. Di Salvo v. Chamber of Commerce, 568 F.2d 593, 598 (8th Cir.1978).” Excel Corp. v. Bosley, 165 F.3d 635, 639 (8th Cir.1999); accord Migis v. Pearle Vision, Inc., 135 F.3d 1041, 1045 (5th Cir.1998); Booker v. Taylor Milk Co., 64 F.3d 860, 864 (3d Cir.1995). “In carrying such [a] burden ... the defendant must show more than that there were steps towards finding comparable employment other than those [the claimant] took; it must ‘show that the course of conduct plaintiff actually followed was so deficient as to constitute an unreasonable failure to seek employment.’ ” Reilly v. Cisneros, 835 F.Supp. 96, 99 (W.D.N.Y.1993), aff'd, 44 F.3d 140 (2d Cir.1995) (quoting E.E.O.C. v. Kallir, Philips, Ross, Inc., 420 F.Supp. 919, 925 (S.D.N.Y.1976), aff'd, 559 F.2d 1203 (2d Cir.1977)). The burden on the plaintiff to show she mitigated her damages is less demanding. “Wrongfully discharged claimants must use reasonable efforts to mitigate their damages, see, e.g., Fiedler v. Indianhead Truck Line, Inc., 670 F.2d 806, 809 (8th Cir.1982), but this burden is not onerous and does not require success. See, e.g., Rasimas v. Michigan Department of Mental Health, 714 F.2d 614, 624 (6th Cir.1983) (reasonable diligence standard), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 950, 104 S.Ct. 2151, 80 L.Ed.2d 537 (1984). All that is required by law is an honest, good faith effort. E.g., United States v. Lee Way Motor Freight, Inc., 625 F.2d 918, 938 (10th Cir.1979).” Brooks v. Woodline Motor Freight, Inc., 852 F.2d 1061, 1065 (8th Cir.1988). “[A] plaintiff may satisfy the ‘reasonable diligence’ requirement by demonstrating a continuing commitment to be a member of the work force and by remaining ready, willing, and available to accept employment.” Booker v. Taylor Milk Co., Inc., 64 F.3d 860, 865 (3d Cir.1995) (citing Hutchison v. Amateur Elec. Supply, Inc., 42 F.3d 1037, 1044 (7th Cir.1994); Ford v. Nicks, 866 F.2d 865, 878 (6th Cir.1989)). “In general, a plaintiff fails to mitigate adequately and therefore is [not] entitled to ... front pay ‘to the extent he [or she] fails to remain in the labor market, fails to accept substantially similar employment, fails diligently to search for alternative work, or voluntarily quits alternative employment without good reason.’ ” Reilly, 835 F.Supp. at 99 (quoting N.L.R.B. v. Madison Courier, Inc., 472 F.2d 1307, 1317 (D.C.Cir.1972)). When a claimant has rejected an offer of employment, the employer must prove that the offered position was substantially similar — a showing which involves demonstrating that the offered position affords “virtually identical promotional opportunities, compensation, job responsibilities, working conditions and status as the former position.” Reilly, 835 F.Supp. at 100; accord Sellers v. Delgado College, 902 F.2d 1189, 1193 (5th Cir.1990) (“Substantially equivalent employment is that employment which affords virtually identical promotional opportunities, compensation, job responsibilities, and status as the position from which the Title VII claimant has been discriminatorily terminated.”). In this case, John Morrell argues that Baker is not entitled to an award of front pay because she failed to mitigate her damages. In short, by choosing to pursue a career as a CNA, which, by its nature, John Morrell asserts is a lower paying field than production work, John Morrell contends that Baker forfeited her right to recover front pay. It is undisputed that Baker did not attempt to find work in the production field. She testified at the post-verdict hearing that, once she was constructively discharged from John Morrell, she decided that she wanted to pursue what she considers to be more fulfilling work as a CNA. Baker’s physician cleared her for work in February of 2002, and on February 14, 2002, she began work at Oak Park Care Center in Sheldon, Iowa. Baker voluntarily left her employment at Oak Park Care Center in December of 2002 to care for her brother, but she was not able to find full-time employment in Sioux City, Iowa. She applied for CNA positions at several care facilities when she moved to Sioux City. In February of 2003, she accepted the highest paying dayshift CNA position she found and appears confident that the position will develop into a full-time position. John Morrell argues that, even if Baker is entitled to front pay despite the fact she did not seek work in the production field, she is not entitled to recover front pay from December of 2002 until April of 2003 — the period during which she was unemployed — because her decision to leave Oak Park Care Center was voluntary and made for personal reasons. To meet its burden of showing that Baker failed to mitigate her damages in this case, John Morrell must establish that “other substantially equivalent positions were available to [Baker] and [s]he failed to use reasonable diligence in attempting to secure such a position.” Anastasio v. Schering Corp., 838 F.2d 701, 708 (3d Cir.1988) (citing Wheeler v. Snyder Buick, Inc., 794 F.2d 1228, 1234 (7th Cir.1986); Rasimas v. Michigan Dep’t of Mental Health, 714 F.2d 614, 624-25 (6th Cir.1983); Wehr v. Burroughs Corp., 619 F.2d 276, 278 n. 3 (3d Cir.1980); Sias v. City Demonstration Agency, 588 F.2d 692, 696 (9th Cir.1978)); see Booker v. Taylor Milk Co., Inc., 64 F.3d 860, 864 (3d Cir.1995) (“To meet its burden, an employer must demonstrate that 1) substantially equivalent work was available, and 2) the Title VII claimant did not exercise reasonable diligence to obtain the employment.”) (Anastasio, 838 F.2d at 708); Coleman v. City of Omaha, 714 F.2d 804, 808 (8th Cir.1983) (“The defendant has to show that the plaintiff failed to use reasonable care and diligence and that there were jobs available which the plaintiff could have discovered and for which the plaintiff was qualified.”) (citing Hegler v. Board of Educ., 447 F.2d 1078, 1081 (8th Cir.1971)). With respect to its argument that Baker failed to mitigate her damages by becoming a CNA, John Morrell has failed to carry its burden. First, the plaintiff has a duty to use reasonable diligence in finding suitable employment, not identical employment. See Newhouse, 110 F.3d at 641. The court is loathe to hold that a claimant must choose between pursuing a new career or facing denial of prospective equitable relief, especially in a case such as this where the plaintiffs decision to change careers was a direct result of the discrimination she endured. Moreover, as a matter of fact, John Morrell has failed to show that an award of front pay would be equivalent to subsidizing Baker’s new career because the evidence John Morrell presented at the post-verdict hearing shows that the plaintiffs new field pays approximately the same as starting wages in her former field. Second, John Morrell did not present any evidence at the evidentiary hearing that comparable employment was actually available when Baker accepted her position at Oak Park Care Center in February of 2002 or when she moved back to Sioux City in December of 2002. Instead, Iowa Workforce Development compiled a list of “random samples” to show the type of job orders it gets for production and CNA positions. [Tr. at 21]. Thus, to the extent John Morrell contends that Baker’s decision in February of 2002 to accept employment at Oak Park Care Center was not a reasonable attempt to mitigate her losses, John Morrell has failed to present any evidence that other employment was available to her or that Baker did not make an “honest, good faith effort” to minimize her damages by obtaining full-time employment. See Brooks v. Woodline Motor Freight, Inc., 852 F.2d 1061, 1065 (8th Cir.1988). The evidence showed that, after Baker’s constructive discharge, she immediately obtained employment as soon as her doctors cleared her to return to work. While she chose to enter a new career field, the evidence also showed that her wage as a CNA was approximately equivalent to the average starting wages in production positions. Thus, the court finds that it is reasonable and equitable to utilize Baker’s wages as a CNA in calculating an appropriate front pay award. Still, the court recognizes that a Title VII claimant seeking front pay damages not only has a duty to mitigate those damages by exercising reasonable diligence to locate other suitable employment, but also by maintaining a suitable job once it is located. See Excel Corp. v. Bosley, 165 F.3d 635, 639 (8th Cir.1999) (citing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Delight Wholesale Co., 973 F.2d 664, 670 (8th Cir.1992)). The defendant argues that Baker is not entitled to front pay because she voluntarily left Oak Park Care Center. The court does not agree. A failure to mitigate does not completely foreclose a front pay award. E.g., Reiner v. Family Ford, Inc., 146 F.Supp.2d 1279, 1287 (M.D.Fla.2001). It does, however, affect the amount the plaintiff can recover. Id. (citing Castle v. Sangamo Weston, Inc., 837 F.2d 1550, 1562 (11th Cir.1988)). Pertinent to this case, a Title VII plaintiff fails to mitigate damages by voluntarily quitting comparable interim employment for personal reasons. E.E.O.C. v. Delight Wholesale Co., 973 F.2d 664, 670 (8th Cir.1992); accord United States v. City of Chicago, 853 F.2d 572, 579 (7th Cir.1988); Oil, Chem. & Atomic Workers Int’l Union v. NLRB, 547 F.2d 598, 602-03 (D.C.Cir.1976). Damages must be “decreased by the amount [s]he would have earned had [s]he not quit.” Brady v. Thurston Motor Lines, Inc., 753 F.2d 1269, 1277 (4th Cir.1985); cf. Greenway v. Buffalo Hilton Hotel, 951 F.Supp. 1039, 1064 (W.D.N.Y.1997) (“Similar to the standard for determining the appropriateness of an award of backpay, a plaintiff has a duty to exercise reasonable diligence in seeking alternative similar employment or risk having the amount of front pay damages reduced by the amount that could have been earned.”) (citation omitted), aff'd, 143 F.3d 47 (2d Cir.1998). Here, Baker left Oak Park Care Center for a strictly personal, albeit admirable and selfless, reason — to care for her ailing brother. While the court is sympathetic and admires Baker’s dedication to her family, the defendant should not be penalized for her choice to leave Oak Park Care Center before securing alternative employment in Sioux City. For that reason, the court finds that Baker failed to adequately mitigate her damages. However, her failure to mitigate damages does not preclude her from recovering a front pay award entirely, especially since she minimized the effect of her failure to mitigate by promptly and diligently seeking alternative employment. The court will consider, in Section I.B.3, infra, of this Order, what Baker could have earned had she remained at Oak Park Care Center until such time that she secured alternative employment and will deduct this sum from what she could have earned at John Morrell but for being constructively discharged. Moreover, the court finds that Baker did not fail to mitigate when she accepted employment at Countryside Senior Living, even though her position is currently part-time. Again, John Morrell did not show that, between December of 2002 and April of 2003, other CNA or factory positions were available. In addition, of the random sample of CNA positions that John Morrell offered at the evi-dentiary hearing, Baker’s current position is at the top end of salaries. Only one CNA position paid more, and Baker had inquired about that position before accepting her position at Countryside Senior Living, but she concluded that the other position was not suitable. There is a strong likelihood, based on Baker’s testimony, that she will be working full-time within a year. Thus, in light of the strong likelihood that she will be working full-time within a relatively short period of time and in light of the fact her Countryside Senior Living position is one of the higher paying CNA positions, it was not unreasonable for her to accept a part-time position. Factor (11) — the amount of any punitive damage award Although the factors set forth above have been utilized to determine front pay awards in the context of both Title VII cases and ADEA cases, one factor has remained controversial in its application to both acts. This factor is the consideration of any liquidated damages (under the ADEA) or punitive damages (under Title VII) that have been awarded to the plaintiff. The ADEA, unlike Title VII, provides for the recovery of “liquidated” damages. 29 U.S.C. § 626(b). The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has defined “liquidated damages” under the ADEA as an award “equal to the actual damages awarded.” Bethea v. Levi Strauss & Co., 916 F.2d 453, 454 n. 3 (citing 29 U.S.C. § 626(b)). Section 626(b) “doubles the compensatory award [in situations where the violation of the ADEA is found to be willful] and is essentially punitive in nature.” Rademaker v. Nebraska, 906 F.2d 1309, 1313 (8th Cir.1990) (citing Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston, 469 U.S. 111, 125, 105 S.Ct. 613, 83 L.Ed.2d 523 (1985)). At least three circuit courts of appeals — the First, Fifth, and the Seventh — have explicitly required the trial court to consider the amount of any liquidated damage award made to a plaintiff to determine whether an additional award of front pay would be inappropriate or excessive. Walther v. Lone Star Gas Co., 952 F.2d 119, 127 (5th Cir.1992) (ADEA case); Hybert v. Hearst Corp., 900 F.2d 1050, 1056 (7th Cir.1990) (ADEA case); Wildman v. Lerner Stores Corp., 771 F.2d 605, 616 (1st Cir.1985) (ADEA case). Title VII, of course, does not contain a liquidated damages provision. It does, however, provide for the recovery of punitive damages. 42 U.S.C. § 1981a. Reasoning that the impact of punitive damages in a Title VII case could — like the impact of an award of liquidated damages in an ADEA case — indicate that an additional award of front pay is inappropriate or excessive, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth. Circuit has adopted this factor in the context of Title VII. Hadley v. VAM P T S, 44 F.3d 372, 376 (5th Cir.1995). It is far from clear whether other courts will adopt the reasoning set forth in Hadley. However, it appears that the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit would be unlikely to put much, if any, emphasis on this factor in a Title VII case. See Newhouse, 110 F.3d at 643 (declining to require district court to consider this factor and observing in an ADEA case that “liquidated damages are punitive in nature under the ADEA ... [whereas] [fjront pay ... is equitable relief ... and the resulting award of liquidated damages simply does not affect the ... court’s determination of appropriate equitable relief.”); cf. Carey v. Mt. Desert Island Hosp., 156 F.3d 31, 41 (1st Cir.1998) (observing that it would be inappropriate in Title VII case to consider the amount of punitive damages awarded rather than the statutorily capped damage award in denying front pay because the former would not be an accurate reflection of what the plaintiff would receive). In this case, the jury awarded Baker punitive damages in the sum of $650,000.00. Based on the court’s March 17, 2003 Order, the court remitted the entirety of Baker’s punitive damages award, allocating the recoverable award to Baker’s emotional distress damages. Even so, assuming Baker were to recover the limit of the statutory cap, 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(b)(3)(D), in punitive damages, Baker would still be precluded from recovering over one-half of the punitive damages award that the jury found was warranted. The court considers the amount of punitive damages awarded in this case to be an improper factor in fashioning the equitable relief of front pay. Athough at least one court has justified the applicability of this factor by analogizing liquidated damages under the ADEA to punitive damages under Title VII, see Hadley, 44 F.3d at 376, this court believes the sounder course is’ to focus on the “make-whole” purposes of prospective equitable relief. Punitive damages, by their nature, are intended to punish the defendant for its discriminatory conduct and to deter the defendant from engaging in like conduct in the future. On the other hand, the purpose of front pay is to make the plaintiff whole. See Cowan, 140 F.3d at 1160; Standley, 5 F.3d at 322. Obviously, these remedies are designed to achieve very different goals. In this court’s view, the amount of punitive damages awarded is simply a neutral consideration in the front pay analysis. Cf. Newhouse, 110 F.3d at 643 (declaring in ADEA case that the amount of liquidated damages awarded “does not affect the ... court’s determination of appropriate equitable relief.”). Moreover, even if punitive damages were a relevant factor, the court concludes they would not counsel against an award of front pay because (1) Baker did not recover any of the punitive damages awarded to her, and (2) assuming she were entitled to recover punitive damages, the statutory maximum, $300,000, still represents less than one-half of the amount that the jury awarded her. Having reviewed the evidence presented both at trial and during the post-verdict evidentiary hearing, the court is left with the firm conviction that reinstatement is not an appropriate remedy in this case. Moreover, after applying factors considered by other courts in determining the propriety of front pay awards, as well as other factors pertinent to the circumstances of this case, the court is persuaded that a front pay award is warranted here. Having made this determination, the court will turn to its calculation of the proper amount and duration of Baker’s front pay award. 3. Calculation of the front pay award The first step in calculating Baker’s front pay award is to determine its proper duration. The court recognizes that a front pay award will contain some degree of speculation. However, the award should not be “unduly speculative.” Barbour, 48 F.3d at 1280; McKnight, 973 F.2d at 1372. Baker has requested twenty years of front pay compensation but has offered only her testimony to justify such a lengthy award. Mindful that “[t]he longer a proposed front pay period, the more speculative the damages become,” McKnight, 973 F.2d at 1372, the court is convinced that Baker’s testimony does not provide an adequate basis to support the length of front pay requested. See Partington v. Broyhill Furniture Industries, Inc., 999 F.2d 269, 273 (7th Cir.1993) (observing that as a general proposition, “[t]he amount of proof required to establish damages will tend ... to be proportional to the amount of damages claimed.”). In fact, the court is confident that a twenty-year award of front pay is unsupportable as a matter of law. See United Paperworkers Internat'l Union, 81 F.3d at 805 (rejecting award of twenty-four years of front pay and stating “An award of front pay until retirement ignores the plaintiffs duty to mitigate damages and the district court’s corresponding obligation to estimate the financial impact of future mitigation. Instead of warranting a lifetime of front pay, [the plaintiffs] relatively young age should improve his future opportunities to mitigate through other employment.”) (internal citation omitted) (citing Hybert v. Hearst Corp., 900 F.2d 1050, 1056-57 (7th Cir.1990) (five years was too speculative); Goss v. Exxon Office Sys. Co., 747 F.2d 885, 890 (3d Cir.1984) (affirming four months of front pay because a longer period would be speculative); Snow v. Pillsbury Co., 650 F.Supp. 299, 300 (D.Minn.1986) (nine-year award reduced to three years)). At the post-verdict hearing, Baker explained that she based her request for twenty years of front pay, in part, on her estimation of the length of time she would have remained employed by John Morrell. In addition, she testified that, based on her knowledge of the wage increases available to CNAs, she would never obtain the level of income she enjoyed at John Morrell. The court agrees that Baker would have remained in her position at John Morrell until she reached retirement absent the discrimination. However, the court is unwilling to adopt the twenty-year figure as a proper approximation for the front pay award because the court finds that it is more likely than not that Baker will earn a top CNA income in substantially less time. While the court was not sympathetic to John Morrell’s argument that Baker failed to mitigate her damages by becoming a CNA because of the similar starting wages for production workers and CNAs, the court is mindful that production workers tend to receive greater wage increases and at shorter intervals than do CNAs. Both John Morrell’s witness from Iowa Workforce Development and Baker testified to this effect at the post-verdict hearing. The court will take this into consideration in determining the duration of Baker’s front pay award. After considering the evidence presented, the court finds that a twenty-year front pay award would be unduly speculative and otherwise excessive. The court concludes that a three-year front pay award would be more appropriate under the circumstances of this case. Three years affords Baker a reasonable amount of time to sufficiently recover from her post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders such that she can participate fully in the job market. Additionally, an award of three years of front pay is appropriate because it will strike the proper balance between the need to make Baker “whole” without unduly penalizing the defendant for Baker’s career move and the need to avoid unduly speculative front pay awards. The next step is to calculate Baker’s estimated yearly income from John Mor-rell for these three years less her mitigation damages. Until January 6, 2003 (that is to say, during the first 14 weeks of the front pay award period), Baker would have earned $11.15 per hour at John Mor-rell. On January 6, 2003, she would have received a fifty cent pay raise. The parties agree that, were Baker still employed by John Morrell as a computer scale operator, she would currently be earning $11.45/hour. John Morrell also did not present any evidence to dispute Baker’s claim that she worked,n on average, 40 hours per week of regular time and 3.75 hours per week of overtime. Based on testimony presented at trial and at the post-verdict hearing, the court finds that Baker’s assertion regarding the amount of overtime she worked is accurate. Because Baker earned time and one-half for hours in excess of 40 hours, Baker would have earned $16.73/hour through January 5, 2003 and $17.18/hour thereafter for overtime work. Thus, assuming Baker worked 43.75 hours per week, she would have earned $7,122.06 during the first 14 weeks of this three-year (or 156 week) period, which began September 28, 2002 and ended January 5, 2003. She would have earned $74,181.69 during the remaining 142 weeks. In sum, Baker would have earned $81,303.75 during the duration of the front pay award .if she were still employed by John Morrell. Because the court finds that Baker failed to mitigate her damages when she left her full-time job at Oak Park Care Center