Age discrimination? Gimmee a break!
Posted on 07/15/2004 1:48:43 PM PDT by Indy Pendance
CHICAGO (AP) - A federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that Maytag Corp. improperly demoted some senior managers over the age of 50 because the appliance maker feared they would not be able to implement new sales procedures.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in the lawsuit that Maytag violated federal age discrimination laws when it eliminated 13 of its 22 regional sales manager positions in 1999.
Of the 11 managers who were demoted during the restructuring, eight were over the age of 50, the lawsuit alleges. Only one employee over 50 was allowed to keep his job.
The regional managers oversaw operations around the country, EEOC attorney Ethan Cohen said. There was a concern at Maytag that the managers would not understand the use of new computer-based sales procedures, he added.
"They were trying to implement new sales procedures and they assumed because of the ages of these individuals they would not be able to implement those procedures," Cohen said. "They were stereotyping these workers, believing they wouldn't be able to manage these new methodologies."
Maytag spokeswoman Lynne Dragomier said the Newton, Iowa-based company had not yet seen the lawsuit, but denied the allegations.
"We will vigorously defend Maytag's position and decisions in this matter," she said.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, alleges that Maytag violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which protects workers age 40 and older.
The EEOC began investigating the demotions after a Maytag employee came forward with allegations of discrimination.
The agency said it discovered during its investigation that two years after Maytag demoted the older employees, the company increased its sales manager ranks to 17. However, several of the older managers were not reinstated to their former positions.
The lawsuit seeks reinstatement of the managers to their original positions along with back pay and other damages.
Age discrimination? Gimmee a break!
More bad news for this outfit. Strikes, layoffs, plant closings, really dumb product moves. Now this.
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