Age Discrimination

A former manager of a securities brokerage firm, who alleged he was demoted because of his age and fired when he complained, was awarded $765,000 in damages by arbitrators.26 Another example of a suit filed for age discrimination includes the case of a 16-employee machine shop in a Western state. According to the firm's owner, one of its employees-a man approaching retirement age-volunteered in front of witnesses to be laid off if layoffs became necessary. Eventually, business slowed to the point that the employee had to switch jobs in the plant or be laid off, and the owner says the employee chose to be laid off. Two years later the laid-off employee sued, charging age discrimination. In 1997, after a year and a half of litigation, the company settled, paying a total of $140,000 in damages and attorneys' fees.27

Age discrimination has proven to be a successful and profitable plan of attack. According to the Journal of Legal Studies, claims under the ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act) primarily are brought by white males who hold relatively high-- status and high-paying jobs. By alleging discriminatory discharge, these plaintiffs recover money judgments 2 1/2 times higher than plaintiffs in Title VII cases, and over four times higher than plaintiffs suing under the Equal Pay Act.28 While the EEOC doesn't track the type and number of lawsuits that are eventually filed, attorneys believe the biggest increase is coming in the area of age discrimination. Companies are laying off a disproportionate number of workers who are over age 40.29 Too often employers make a fundamental mistake when terminating older employees for poor performance by either disregarding the concept of progressive discipline or adhering to the principle on relatively short notice. Following progressive discipline principles is particularly important in the termination of a long-term employee, whom a jury may see as an exceedingly sympathetic witness.