As employees age, many are revered as valuable assets because they have years of experience and insight into the given field or position they hold. However, there are times when companies do not necessarily revere older employees as essential and actually try to cast them aside because of their age. This kind of age discrimination is illegal and can lead to repercussions for any company that practices age discrimination. A recent case of bank employees who claimed to be discriminated against because of their age and also because they were female may be note-worthy for any Colorado employee above a certain age or who is female.
The case involves two female bank employees who were over 40 years old. They contend they were fired in 2008 based on their age and also their gender. They alleged that they were held to certain criteria that the younger male employees were not held to. The two filed suit against the company in 2011.
The bank decided to settle the suit and agreed to pay $230,000 to the women. The bank also agreed to conduct training about discrimination for employees and post a notice about discrimination in the workplace. The bank also stated that by agreeing to settle the suit, they in no way admit culpability and that their training before this incident should not be seen as inadequate.
Whenever an employee feels they have been discriminated against, whether it is age discrimination or sex discrimination, it may be a difficult case to prove. However, discrimination in all forms is illegal and employees should know their rights and what protections they have under the law. If an employee in Colorado were to pursue a discrimination suit, he or she may be able to be reinstated or may receive a settlement that covers back and/or future pay.
Source: bizjournals.com, “Bank of ABQ pays $230K to settle discrimination suit“, Dennis Domrzalski, May 9, 2014