After the two failed to reach an out-of-court settlement, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Corrections. The EEOC claims the corrections department offers a benefit to employees who take early retirement between 50 and 55 that isn’t available to those who retire after age 55.

“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,” John Rowe, director of the EEOC Chicago district, which includes Minnesota, said in an EEOC news release. “Employers may have early retirement incentive plans that are consistent with the federal law against age discrimination – which is not the case with the Minnesota Department of Corrections.”

The lawsuit is aimed to helping about 330 retirees who lost the benefit - employer contributions to health and dental insurance - as well as others still working for the corrections department. The policies are actually part of union agreements, so the unions are included as defendants in the suit.

As the workforce ages, so do complaints about age discrimination, not surprisingly. According to the EEOC, “In Fiscal Year 2007, age discrimination charge filings across the country increased 15% to 19,103, the largest annual increase since FY 2002.”

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