Retirement Plan Age Discrimination Lawsuit

In an August 20, 2009 Press Release, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced that it has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against AT&T, Inc., a company based in Dallas, Texas, alleging that a class of retired workers were discriminated against by denying them the ability for reemployment solely because they retired under early retirement plans, including the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program, the Enhanced Pension and Retirement Program or other retirement plan.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-20-09.html .  As stated in the Press Release, the effect of this denial of reemployment results in a disproportionate number of older workers not having the same opportunity to apply for reemployment, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the result of the company’s policy is to exclude a class of older workers because of their age from being reemployed by the company regardless of their qualifications.  EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart Ishimaru said, in part, that “This particular case highlights the Commission’s commitment to combating age-based disparate impact discrimination.”  For further information about the EEOC, see the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .