Dive Brief:

• A New Jersey federal judge has overturned a $50 million award of punitive damages against Lockheed Martin, calling the jury's award a “miscarriage of justice.”
• The judge upheld the jury's award of $1.5 million for lost wages and benefits, emotional distress and liquidated damages under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, but said the punitive damages couldn't stand because the plaintiff failed to prove that upper management was either involved in or indifferent to discriminatory conduct. She ordered a new trial on punitive damages.
• The case involved a plaintiff who began working at a facility in 1984, when it was owned by RCA. After several ownership changes, he became a Lockheed employee. When he was laid off, he sued, alleging that of 110 people in his position, only five were laid off and they were all older than 50. The company then continued to hire younger workers for the same position, he said.

Dive Insight:

Companies may seek to replace seasoned employees with lower paid entry level staff, but the ADEA is clear: workers 40 and older are protected from discrimination based on their age.

And, as baby boomers retire in droves, many companies are finding that the impact of losing older workers is a double-edged sword. The “brain drain” of those staff members who hold historical knowledge of the work is significant. Companies would be wise to transition seasoned staff members slowly, not only to avoid an ageism charge, but to capitalize on the knowledge and experience they hold.

Finally, with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission promising to make ADEA enforcement a priority, HR may want to brush up on compliance. The ADEA mirrors other federal nondiscrimination laws in many ways, but also has its own special requirements, notably strict rules regarding layoffs.