Department of Corrections sued over retiree incentives

Updated: September 23, 2008 - 11:38 PM

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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Tuesday sued the Minnesota Department of Corrections over an early retirement incentive plan that the EEOC says discriminates against workers age 55 and older.

Some corrections employees who take early retirement between the ages of 50 and 55 can receive the employer contribution for health and dental insurance until they are 65. But employees who retire later than the first pay period after their 55th birthday are excluded.

"Telling your older employees that they are too old to receive a benefit of early retirement made available to younger employees is, on its face, discriminatory," said John Rowe, director of the EEOC Chicago district, which includes Minnesota.

The EEOC began its investigation into the Department of Corrections in 2005 after an employee, who retired at age 60, was told she was ineligible for the employer contribution for health and dental insurance, said Laurie Vasichek, a senior trial attorney for the EEOC.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court after failing to negotiate a settlement with the department.

An attorney representing the department couldn't be reached for comment.

The suit is one of the largest age discrimination actions that the EEOC has pending, Vasichek said. About 330 Department of Corrections retirees would be affected.

MARY LYNN SMITH