Age Discrimination Claim Following RIF Advances to Jury
Takeaway: Before conducting a reduction in force, an employer should review its possible exposure to age discrimination claims. A reduction in force (RIF) is not necessarily a sufficient explanation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for the dismissal of an older worker , the state Court of Appeals ruled as it sent an age discrimination claim to a jury. The plaintiff, a customer service manager at Pacific World Corp., alleged age discrimination, disability discrimination, and failure to reasonably accommodate following her layoff. The California Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the employer, a personal care products company, on the latter two claims but revived the age discrimination claim. At the time of the layoff, the plaintiff, who was in her early 60s, was training a younger male co-worker to replace her after she retired, which she was planning to do in a few years. The plaintiff reported to the vice president of operations and s...