Goodyear settles with former Topeka employee in age discrimination suit

ERJ staff report (TB)

Topeka, Kansas -- Goodyear has settled out of court with a former human relations services manager in an age discrimination suit before the Kansas federal district court. Terms of the agreement were confidential.

According to the complaint filed in June 2010, Tony McCauley was 28 when he began working at Goodyear's Topeka plant in 1985. He was 51 in 2008 when the company fired him.

Although his supervisors criticised him at the time for his handling of a sex discrimination complaint, Mr. McCauley said he never received any negative performance reviews in the 23 years he worked at the facility. However, during the last three years Mr. McCauley spent at Goodyear, a number of older managers and employees were terminated and replaced with younger workers, he said.

Mr. McCauley accused Akron-based Goodyear of violating his employment rights under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Kansas Acts Against Discrimination. He sought damages “in excess of $100,000,” including back pay, front pay, punitive damages, prejudgment interest, compensatory damages and attorneys' fees.

A Goodyear spokesman declined comment on the case.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)