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Sears faces an age discrimination claim after firing a salesman

On Behalf of | Mar 11, 2014 | Employment Disputes |

No matter how old a person is, his or her importance in the workplace does not diminish with age. If an individual is doing his or her job effectively, then it should not matter how old they are. There are times in a Texas workplace, however, when a company may feel that workers of a certain age are past the point of usefulness and cannot handle their job as effectively as someone younger. Even after many years of successful service, an employee may still face termination due to age discrimination.

After 13 years of service, a Sears salesperson lost his job even though he apparently was the recipient of numerous service awards. He alleges that the company fired him because of his age. Reportedly, he was the oldest commissioned salesperson at the store where he worked. He claims that, last year, the new manager cut his hours, causing him to lose out on money from his sales.

The company claims that the man was fired because he was engaging in coupon fraud. The salesperson alleges that the company allowed salespeople to use excess coupons to assist them in making a sale. He also claimed that store managers saw other people engaging in this practice regularly. When a company investigator came in, the salesperson stated that he was told that he was engaging in coupons fraud by the investigator, and he would only receive a warning if he signed a confession.

After he signed the confession, he was relieved of his duties. The man is now filing an age discrimination claim against Sears in a Texas court. He also stated that, after he was fired, his position was filled with a younger employee. If his claim is successful, he could possibly be reinstated and also be awarded lost wages.

Source: The Southeast Texas Record, Sears accused of age discrimination, Thomas Kallies, March 6, 2014

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