Settlement reached in Alpine School District age-discrimination suit

A settlement has been reached between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Alpine School District in a class action age discrimination lawsuit.

The suit started with allegations filed by an over 50 elementary school teacher and was later expanded to a class of other employees age 40 and older. It asserted individuals were fired, not hired, not given transfers or training that younger teachers got, and were harassed on the job because of their age.

The attorney for the district appeared before U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins Thursday, while the EEOC lawyer based in Arizona was permitted to take part in a hearing via telephone. Both updated the judge on the status of the case, said it had been settled and there are plans underway to submit a proposed consent decree to Jenkins to review sometime during the week of Jan. 20.

If the judge agrees with the settlement, he will then dismiss the case.

The litigation began with a 2007 action filed by former Geneva Elementary School teacher Sara Mead, then age 50, and was expanded by the EEOC to include a class of individuals over age 40, claiming that the district violated federal laws that forbid age discrimination in the workplace.

Alpine School District has denied breaking the law.

Details of the settlement will not be made public until the judge signs off on the consent decree. — Linda Thomson