A reorganization at Megacorp is about to clip a 52 year-old friend. They browbeat him into signing a waiver document in return for a severance package, but he's a good 10 years away from being in position to retire.
However, management has been completely opaque about the reasons for his situation. They didn't eliminate his job, and he isn't being fired for cause; his performance reviews have been good for years. But they sidelined him and hired someone much younger to take that job. He repeatedly asked why he is getting bounced, but he's gotten stonewalled by three layers of management and the entire HR group. It's very suspicious that no one will tell him anything. I think it's because they all know they're doing something shady, perhaps illegal.
According to the regulations on the EEOC website, regardless of any waiver he signed, he is nonetheless free to file a charge of age discrimination. The facts of his case appear to be a no-brainer, although I hear stories all the time about older workers getting the axe, so I wonder if it's worth the bother of pursuing. The law may be on his side, but that doesn't mean a government agency will necessarily take up his case. Employment discrimination might be like burglary, so common it would swamp law enforcement to pursue every instance.
What would be the consequences for the douchebag management anyway? Does anyone ever go to jail for this sort of behavior, or does it merely end up with some paperwork plus a trivial fine and reinstatement of the victim? Anybody here have advice I could relay?
P.S. It's so weird that for my buddy getting the boot is a disaster, whereas if they offered me severance it would be like winning the lottery.
However, management has been completely opaque about the reasons for his situation. They didn't eliminate his job, and he isn't being fired for cause; his performance reviews have been good for years. But they sidelined him and hired someone much younger to take that job. He repeatedly asked why he is getting bounced, but he's gotten stonewalled by three layers of management and the entire HR group. It's very suspicious that no one will tell him anything. I think it's because they all know they're doing something shady, perhaps illegal.
According to the regulations on the EEOC website, regardless of any waiver he signed, he is nonetheless free to file a charge of age discrimination. The facts of his case appear to be a no-brainer, although I hear stories all the time about older workers getting the axe, so I wonder if it's worth the bother of pursuing. The law may be on his side, but that doesn't mean a government agency will necessarily take up his case. Employment discrimination might be like burglary, so common it would swamp law enforcement to pursue every instance.
What would be the consequences for the douchebag management anyway? Does anyone ever go to jail for this sort of behavior, or does it merely end up with some paperwork plus a trivial fine and reinstatement of the victim? Anybody here have advice I could relay?
P.S. It's so weird that for my buddy getting the boot is a disaster, whereas if they offered me severance it would be like winning the lottery.