(The Kansas City Star posted the following article by Randolph Heaster on its website on March 1.)
KANSAS CITY — A federal agency sued BNSF Railway Co. on Tuesday, contending that a group of older employees eligible for retirement was excluded from a recent buyout plan.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the age discrimination suit on behalf of at least 33 clerical workers who worked at BNSF sites in Kansas City, Kan.; Topeka; and Fort Worth, Texas. The suit was filed in federal court in Kansas City, Kan.
The railroad had not yet seen the lawsuit, said Steve Forsberg, a BNSF spokesman in Overland Park.
“We’re not in a position to comment until our legal team has had a chance to study it,” he said. “Any response would then be made through the legal process.”
The EEOC alleges that between 2003 and 2005, BNSF offered an incentive-laden buyout plan for certain groups of clerical workers, but not those eligible for retirement. The buyout offer was for BNSF employees to leave the company but continue receiving $2,500 a month for three years, also receiving employment credit for those three years. The other option was a $90,000 lump sum payment.
The EEOC said at least 33 persons who were eligible to retire did not receive the buyout offer because the deal would have given them 30 years with the company and full retirement benefits.
The EEOC described the situations of BNSF employees Ellen Foste and Erma Gossage, both of whom worked at the Kansas City, Kan., location.
Foste, 72, was denied a chance to participate in the buyout plan because it would have maximized her retirement benefit, the federal agency contends. Foste eventually was forced to retire when her clerical job was abolished and she declined to take a night driving job with the railroad, according to the EEOC.
Gossage, 63, also was denied a chance to participate in the buyout plan because she had 30 years of service with the railroad and was eligible to retire, the EEOC said.
The suit also names the Transportation Communications International Union, which represents BNSF’s clerical workers. The EEOC said the railroad and union negotiated a contract in which clerical workers lost their “protected” job status after turning 70. Protected employees are guaranteed the same pay rate in the event they are bumped to lower-paying jobs or laid off.
In addition to seeking a court ruling that BNSF and the union change their policies, the EEOC is requesting back wages for the group of clerical workers denied a chance to participate in the buyout program.