Employment
Judge sides with employer accused of discrimination
On Jan. 30, a judge threw out the discrimination and retaliation claims of a research scientist who said he was forced from his position. George Wall took early retirement from his position at Alcon Laboratories in Dallas. He claimed he was issued an unfair and arbitrary performance evaluation and subsequently was demoted in an attempt to force him to leave due to his age. As a result, he received significantly smaller retirement benefits. Defense counsel maintained that all decisions regarding his position were made for legitimate, nondiscriminatory business reasons. Defense counsel argued that he was denied the benefits because he failed to comply with the retirement plan’s rules for early retirement.
