QUESTION
Do I have an age discrimination case? Can I be laid off for a salary purge?
Asked on Jul 26th, 2015 on Wrongful Termination - Indiana
More details to this question:
I live in Ohio, work in Indiana. An auto group from New Orleans, bought our dealership in Feb 2014. On June 23,2014 I received an email from GM stating my position was being eliminated. It wasn't eliminated, it was given to a 20 something kid. I was 62 at the time. He was also given the keys to my demo car. GM said I wasn't entitled to a demo. GM held my last check because I blew whistle to corp for some of his shady practices. He was soon fired and I called about getting my last pay check. They agreed to pay it. When I went to pick up check they offered my job back. Since GM was gone and new GM seemed straight I said yes. They made me sign a no lawsuit agreement. Several months later I was laid off again. I believe they only hired me back to get the agreement signed. I backed out on a job offer from a national corp. to go back there. I was never written up for anything or given a performance evaluation. Can they lay me off as a salary purge?
1 ANSWER
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Dear Anonymous,
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") prohibits discrimination on the basis of age (over 40). However, age discrimination cases can be difficult to prove because employers can often come up with a "legitimate business reason" for letting you go. Your situation creates and interesting question because you were re-hired and then terminated a second time. It sounds as though you were certainly discriminated against on the basis of your age the first time you were let go. The fact that your job was not "eliminated" and you were replaced by someone much younger is proof of that discrimination. However, without having additional information, it is difficult to say whether you were again discriminated against when you were terminated the second time. In order to properly evaluate your legal rights, I would also need to review the "no lawsuit agreement" that you were required to sign. It may or may not restrict your legal rights, but if your employment was contingent on signing such an agreement, I am suspicious of your employer's intentions. If you would like to discuss your case in more detail, I am an age discrimination attorney, and would be happy to provide you with a free consultation.
Chip Clark
Answered on Jul 27th, 2015 at 12:28 PM