PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 3, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An age discrimination lawsuit filed by Console Law Offices LLC against The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company on behalf of three former employees and all other similarly situated former employees will go forward as a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act, The Honorable Juan R. Sánchez ruled on July 29, 2011.
Penn Mutual has been ordered that notice of the lawsuit shall issue to all individuals who were employed to work at Defendant's home office in Horsham, Pennsylvania, whose employment was terminated by Defendant as part of an alleged reduction in force, reorganization, or job elimination during a set time period in 2009 and 2010, and who were age forty or older at the time of their termination. These individuals will have the opportunity to "opt-in" to the litigation as plaintiffs and pursue their own claims that they were discriminated against because of their age, despite the fact that they signed releases of their claims in order to receive severance pay. Plaintiffs allege that the releases were ineffective to bar the age suits because they failed to comply with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act.
According to the Plaintiffs' Complaint, in 2009, Penn Mutual began a centrally planned reduction in force that was conducted in a series of waves over the course of the year and into early 2010. These mass terminations were aimed at saving money by reducing the "head count" of its Horsham headquarters. In actuality, according to the Complaint, the layoffs were designed to, and did, discriminatorily remove older workers from employment with Defendant, part and parcel of an overall culture of age bias that is alleged to have existed at Defendant for years. The three named plaintiffs were long-serving, high-ranking employees of Defendant who were each told in November 2009, that they were being let go as part of this larger reorganization. Plaintiffs further allege that Defendant then deceived Plaintiffs and the other older, laid-off workers by falsely telling each that, by signing a release agreement (as they were required to do to receive severance), the employee was releasing their federal age discrimination claims. Plaintiffs claim that Defendant knew these Agreements did not comply with federal law and are, therefore, unenforceable. As Judge Sanchez noted in his opinion, the Defendant "has indicated it will not seek to enforce the three named Plaintiffs' purported release of their [federal age discrimination] claims."
Pursuant to Judge Sánchez's Order, the Notice that will be sent out to the terminated, older workers will be submitted for Court approval next week. Counsel for the parties will meet with Judge Sanchez on August 19, 2011 to set the schedule for the remainder of the case and discuss any issues with the proposed notice.
Carol A. Mager is lead counsel for the plaintiffs and argued the motion before Judge Sanchez. The plaintiffs are also represented by Stephen G. Console, Laura C. Mattiacci, and James M. Duttera, all also of Console Law Offices LLC. www.consolelaw.com.
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