Man files lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard for wrongful firing

A recently lawsuit has alleged that age discrimination is a problem at the technology company Hewlett-Packard. A man from San Diego filed a complaint against the company for wrongful termination based on age discrimination.

The man, 55, worked at the company for close to 40 years. He claims that a 2012 reduction plan that reduced the number of workers was actually created to eliminate older workers. He filed a complaint with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing. This is necessary before going to court; the department gave him the right to pursue his claim.

Since July 2012, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing reported that it had received at least 32 complaints about Hewlett-Packard. Seven of those complaints were for this case’s San Diego location. Of the 32 complaints, 24 people received the right to pursue a lawsuit through the department.

While Hewlett-Packard claims its workforce reduction was neutral, 1,765 of the workers laid off out of 2,076 were 40 or older. That made up around 85 percent of the total layoffs and doesn’t look good for the company. By the time the man in this case was let go, he claims he was the oldest worker at the location. Everyone older than him had already been laid off.

Age is no reason to let someone go; in fact, age is one thing that it is illegal to fire someone for. If you are let go from a position because of age, understand that you may have a wrongful termination case against your employer. An experienced attorney can provide more information.

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, “Lawsuit alleges age discrimination at Hewlett-Packard,” Morgan Cook, Dec. 06, 2017