59-Year-Old Employee Terminated After Overhearing His Manager Allegedly Say He Needed A Plan To Get Rid of Him.

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Employee Files Lawsuit against SBC Building Systems for Age Discrimination

In 1999, Stephen accepted the position of shipping advisor with SBC Building Systems. After years of faithful work, Stephen’s yearly salary was changed to hourly pay. This adjustment meant a significant drop in pay for Stephen. His boss suggested that he could recover the loss in pay by working overtime, but he was rarely assigned overtime. Although the official explanation for changing his pay to hourly was that the company wanted to save money, Stephen wondered if it had something to do with his age.

At 59, Stephen continued to complete his job responsibilities. According to Stephen, the plant manager often made comments like “the wind would blow Steve away,” implying that Stephen was frail.The plant manager also referred to Stephen’s arms as “those things hanging from your shoulders” as a way to draw attention to his lack of strength due to his age. The plant manager also referred to Stephen’s arms as “those things hanging from your shoulders” as a way to draw attention to his lack of strength due to his age. Comments like these made Stephen suspect that the change in his pay had to do with age discrimination.

The plant manager called Stephen into a meeting two months later. Stephen recalled that when he entered the office the quality control manager was also present. His plant manager set a piece of paper in front of Stephen and told him to sign it. Stephen, unable to read the document, said he needed his glasses. According to Stephen, the plant manager said, “You don’t need your glasses. Just sign.”

The document Stephen was unable to read was a letter of termination. He couldn’t understand why he was being fired after eighteen years. Stephen claims that he overheard the plant manager say to another manager that he “needed to come up with a plan to get rid of Stephen.” Soon after Stephen’s termination, his job was filled with a new employee who was younger than 40 years old.

Stephen suspects his pay cut and subsequent termination from SBC Building Systems is due to his age. Now a client of KM&A, Stephen fights for his employment rights. KM&A represents women and men like Stephen who have suffered age discrimination in their job.

 

Full text of this complaint, as filed with the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, is available at docket no: 2:17-cv-01484-MRH

Kraemer, Manes & Associates LLC is an employment law firm with principal offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, serving all counties in Pennsylvania, focusing on employment law, business law, litigation, and civil issues. KM&A clients include employees, small businesses, parties in litigation, and people with a variety of legal issues.

For more information about this case, contact Attorney Sean Ruppert at 412-626-5550 or at sr@lawkm.com.

NOTICE: All information contained in this statement comes from the Complaint which has been filed as a public record with the court. As dedicated civil rights attorneys, we strongly believe in the public value of telling our clients’ stories: violators can be held accountable, and other silent victims can feel empowered to stand up for their legal rights. Although we make every attempt to verify our clients’ claims, note that the defendant is expected to oppose our client’s position, and the court has not ruled one way or the other as of the date of this statement.