IBM and Kyndryl Sued for Age Discrimination (Again)
IBM alongside their subsidiary Kyndryl is being sued for age discrimination. The companies are alleged to have cut the jobs of older workers while creating similar positions for younger ones. The complaint was filed in June 2024 on behalf of five veteran executives and employees who served the two corporations for (cumulatively) more than 150 years. IBM has rejected the claims stating that they are “false claims of systemic age discrimination.”
The complaint cites a 2021 case, Townsley v. Int’l Bus. Machines Corp, in which an executive, who was accused of attempting “to keep ageist IBM executive level planning documents confidential,” said those documents from 5 or 6 years earlier were still being used as policy for hiring decisions.
To further support claims of ageist hiring and firing practices, the complaint cites a recently-leaked video of CEO Arvind Krishna that appears to confirm that IBM has continued its practice of using secretive top-down pressure to “gerrymander” its workforce to reflect the demographic preferences of its executives.
The 2023 video appears to show Krishna tying manager bonuses to diversity targets in a discriminatory manner. Basically, IBM is accused of threatening to withhold bonuses from bosses if they don’t hire a “diverse” enough range of techies, including Black and Hispanic workers, leading to qualified candidates who are Asian and others being ignored on the basis of their race.
In addition, the latest lawsuit points to, Wimbish v. IBM, an age discrimination lawsuit filed in September by two former human resources managers. In this complaint, the fired HR managers alleged that IBM routinely considers an employee’s “runway” when making termination decisions. “Runway” is coded language for how long IBM expects an employee to remain at IBM before they retire. In other words, it’s a direct proxy for age.
Proxy characteristics
Age is a protected characteristic under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 if you are over 40-years old. The Florida Civil Rights Act, by contrast, does not contain an express age requirement. An employer cannot fire an employee due to their age or use their age when making hiring or other employment decisions. In this case, IBM is accused of using a proxy for age as a reason to terminate employees. The concept of the “runway” is thus pivotal for the employees to make their case. Two fired HR executives claim that IBM still uses the employee’s runway as a determining factor when letting employees go. This would be illegal under current U.S. and Florida civil rights legislation. Since runway is a direct proxy for age, considering an employee’s runway is tantamount to considering their age when letting the employee go.
Talk to a Tampa, FL Age Discrimination in Employment Attorney Today
Florin Gray represents the interests of older workers who have recently lost their jobs, been passed up for promotions, or suffered hostile work environments due to their age. Call our Tampa employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your claims right away.
Source:
theregister.com/2024/06/20/ibm_and_kyndryl_again_sued/
