TRIED TO AVOID INCREASED PENSION COSTS
A bunch of teachers, who worked for Chicago’s Urbana School District No. 116, were the victims of age discrimination, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Apparently, because they were over 45 years of age, the district wanted to enforce a cap on raises within ten years of retirement eligibility, so that the district didn’t have to incur higher pension costs.
Believing that such a policy violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Urbana Division (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Urbana School District No. 116 and Urbana Education Association, IEA-NEA; Civil Action No. 18-cv-02212) on Aug. 10, 2018, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In a settlement announced in mid-April, in addition to paying lost wages to some 40 teachers impacted by the policy, the district agreed, among other things, to stop entering into agreements which limit compensation based on an employee’s age or retirement eligibility and to modify its practices.
In a written statement, Amrith Kaur Aakre, district director of the EEOC’s Chicago District Office, noted that, “In addition to limiting salary increases teachers earned through furthering their education, because of the collective bargaining agreement provision, the district prevented some teachers over age 45 from performing extra paid work for the district, with those opportunities going to teachers younger than 45. Limiting work opportunities based on age is illegal.”
Weren’t they old enough to know better?
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