On August 14, 2013, 12 former employees of Mission Solutions Engineering (MSE) filed suit in federal court alleging that their terminations constituted age discrimination. The plaintiffs are seeking back pay, damages and counsel fees.
According to the local press, the company, located in Moorestown, New Jersey, is a defense contractor. In January 2012, the company laid off 68 of its approximately 500 employees, allegedly due to federal funding cuts, according to the company. But according to their lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that they were let go as “part of a broader plan by MSE to reduce the age of its workforce.”
Among the plaintiffs are:
The plaintiffs’ claims are typical of an age discrimination wrongful termination lawsuit. Employers never attribute terminations to age, but rather use excuses such as the need to reduce expenses. While older employees are likely to be the ones who are the most experienced, at the same time, the most experienced employees are likely the ones whose salaries are the highest. So terminating older employees yields greater cost reductions than terminating younger employees.
No matter what excuse an employer gives, if an employee’s age motivates termination decisions, the employer is engaging in illegal age discrimination.