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Employment Law News
EEOC And BNSF Railway Agree To Settle Age Discrimination Lawsuit For $800,000
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) today announced that they had agreed to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by the Commission on behalf of 137 present and former employees who were allegedly denied benefits under exit incentive programs offered by the railroad because they were eligible to retire.
In its lawsuit (Case No. 2:06-CV-2069), filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the EEOC asserted that BNSF discriminated against employees eligible for Railroad Retirement by denying them benefits under exit incentive plans offered to clerical employees in certain of its facilities. The lawsuit also alleged that BNSF and the Transportation Communications International Union (TCU), a union representing the railway’s clerical employees, discriminated against older employees in their labor contract by eliminating their “protected” status, which afforded them certain benefits, when they became eligible to retire and reached age 70. The latter allegations were settled by the filing of a partial consent decree with the court on August 28, 2006, in which BNSF and TCU agreed to remove the provision at issue from the contract. TCU was then dismissed from the case.
The EEOC alleged that between 2002 and 2005, BNSF, in an attempt to reduce its clerical workforce, offered exit incentive plans to clerical employees in Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas, Fort Worth, Texas, and Alliance, Nebraska, but excluded any employee who was eligible for retirement. BNSF employees could retire at age 60 with 30 years of service. Under the exit incentive plans, participating employees ceased working and received $2,500 per month for three years or a lump sum of $90,000. The Commission argued that thirty-five employees over the age of 60 were denied the opportunity to participate in the exit incentive plans offered by the railroad because they were eligible to retire and receive federal Railroad Retirement benefits. Read more at eeoc.gov.
Laws prohibit the termination of an employee in retaliation for filing a workers compensation claim
The Workers’ Compensation statute in one state, NJSA 34:15-39.1 only prohibits the termination of an employee in retaliation for filing a workers compensation claim or for testifying at a workers’ compensation hearing. If you feel you were terminated for these reasons, one alternative is the filing of a discrimination complaint against your employer with the Division of Workers’ Compensation. Then contact our lawyers.
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Latest news about Employment cases in North Dakota and nationwide:
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Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
Definition:
Recipients of federal funding for law enforcement under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3789d, are prohibited by that statute from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Definition:
enforces Title I of the ADA against private employers and the Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice enforces Title I of the ADA against state and local government employers. Title I of the ADA designates the EEOC as the federal agency primarily responsible for investigating individual charges of discrimination under the Act.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Definition:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e, et seq., prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, national origin and religion. It also is unlawful under the Act for an employer to take retaliatory action against any individual for opposing employment practices made unlawful by Title VII or for filing a discrimination charge or for testifying or assisting or participating in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under Title VII.
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