(The following article by Randolph Heaster was posted on the Kansas City Star website on March 31.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BNSF Railway Co. has settled an age discrimination suit with a federal agency, agreeing to pay $800,000 to a group of current and former employees.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday that BNSF agreed to the settlement with 137 workers but denied any liability.
The dispute arose last year when the federal agency alleged the railroad offered an incentive-laden buyout plan for certain groups of clerical workers except those already eligible for retirement. The offer gave BNSF employees a chance to leave the company but continue receiving $2,500 a month for three years while still accumulating employment credit. The alternative was a $90,000 lump-sum payment.
The agency alleged the discrimination occurred when clerical employees eligible to retire were not offered the same buyout.
BNSF countered that discrimination had not occurred, because the offer was designed to give employees an opportunity to retire before they became eligible for government benefits. Those already eligible to retire were excluded because they had access to the same or greater benefits payout, not because of age, the railroad said.
Despite the settlement, both sides remained firm in their positions.
“Denying employees benefits because they are eligible to retire is age discrimination,” said Barbara Seely, attorney in the EEOC’s St. Louis office.
BNSF said its voluntary early retirement programs do not discriminate against employees based on age.
“The railroad decided to settle to avoid the substantial cost of further litigation,” said BNSF attorney Donald Munro in a statement.