A federal jury in Camden has issued a verdict that would require Lockheed Martin Corp. to pay $51.5 million, including $50 million in punitive damages, in an age discrimination suit by an engineer, according to court records.
The suit claimed Lockheed Martin had a practice of laying off older employees while hiring younger workers for the same position. Plaintiff Robert Braden, who held the title of project specialist, senior staff at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Moorestown, filed suit after he was included in a reduction in force at the facility in July 2012, when he was 66. Out of 110 employees at the Moorestown plant with that title, five were laid off, including Braden. All five were over the age of 50.
