Law Firm Age Discrimination Lawsuit

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) attorneys have filed an age discrimination lawsuit against a New York City law firm alleging that the firm violated federal age discrimination law through its compensation system, according to a January 28, 2010 EEOC Press Release found at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-28-10a.cfm .  As stated in the Press Release, EEOC attorneys charge that the law firm’s compensation system provides dramatically reduced compensation to attorneys who practiced law after turning 70 years of age.  More specifically, the EEOC contends that the law firm requires all partners to give up their ownership interest in the firm at the age of 70, and, if an attorney continues to work, his or her compensation consists of an annual “bonus” payment in an amount totally within the discretion of the firm’s executive committee.  According to the EEOC, the reduced compensation is less than what is provided to similarly productive younger attorneys. 

In this case, a law firm attorney turned 70 in 2001 and his compensation has been substantially less than younger attorneys at the firm with similar productivity even though he routinely has obtained over $1 million in fees annually from his clients.  When the attorney complained about the age based compensation system, the EEOC said that the law firm reduced his bonus payment by two-thirds while his productivity remained the same.

This alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age based employment discrimination against those aged 40 and older, and which also bars employers from retaliating against those who complain about such unlawful employment practices.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including age discrimination.  EEOC attorneys filed the age discrimination lawsuit after attempting to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement.

In Fiscal Year 2009, the EEOC received 22,778 age discrimination charge filings, the second highest level ever, accounting for 24% of its private sector caseload.  EEOC age discrimination charge data may be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/adea.cfm .  Further information about the EEOC may be found at www.eeoc.gov .