On Nov. 15, 2010, a jury awarded $668,019 to a Dell technical sales representative who claimed he was fired because of his age. In 2008, William Wise Jr., then 61, was fired from his Austin job. He had worked for the company for 11 years. Two years prior to his termination, he earned “Circle of Excellence” awards. Wise argued that although he was informed he was being released due to his missed sales quota, no other sales representative had been terminated for such a reason. Yet there were a number of salespeople who did not meet their targets. When Wise was put on a performance action plan in March 2006, neither his managers nor the human resources department followed the company procedures, Wise claimed.
Wise v. Dell Inc., No. D-1-GN-09-001942
