Beware Age Bias In Mergers

More than 60 million workers--nearly half the U.S. workforce--are 40 or older, making them possible victims of age discrimination. Thus, companies need to be more careful about which workers to trim when mergers force job consolidations. Just ask First Union Bank, based in Charlotte, N.C., which recently settled an age bias suit filed by 239 workers for a record-setting $58.5 million. Most of the workers who lost their jobs were in that protected class and had worked at smaller banks First Union had acquired.