“A Laboratory Manager discharged a staff member who had been working in the laboratory the past 14 months. The employee claimed that her civil rights were violated and that she was discriminated against because of her age.
The employee was 50 years old. During an investigation in HR, the Laboratory Manager was asked to provide copies of her performance evaluations to justify the contention that the discharge was based on her performance, not her age.
No performance evaluations had been given to any employees. This claim led to an out-of-court settlement.
Considerations
The employee had been with the Laboratory for 14 months and had not received a performance appraisal. She claimed that she was not aware that her performance was not satisfactory and was surprised when she was terminated. She alleged that the sole reason for her discharge was her age — that the Laboratory Manager wanted to hire a younger person. The Laboratory Manager said she had been warned on several occasions, but nothing had been documented.
What went wrong and how could have it be prevented?
Provide a two-page document listing and explaining what you think went wrong with this case and what recommendations would you provide to the Manager/Director to prevent this situation from happening again.
