Alleged Age Discrimination at Hewlett-Packard Results in Lawsuit

Another age discrimination complaint has been lobbed at Hewlett-Packard, tech giant. The most recently filed age discrimination lawsuit was filed by Bryant Fonseca, 55, a San Diego resident. Fonseca sued in San Diego Superior Court, seeking class-action status. A Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman responded by email stating that the Palo-Alto based company doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation.

Bryant Fonseca was a Hewlett-Packard employee as a research and development buyer for close to 40 years. He claims that the tech giant terminated his employment at the Rancho Bernardo location last May as part of their 2012 plan to reduce their workforce that targeted older employees.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, Fonseca completed the required step in the process that is often skated over, filing a complaint with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing. He was granted the right to sue. Yet the interesting part of this step in the legal process is that the department has received more than 32 complaints citing age discrimination at Hewlett-Packard since July 2012. Of the 32 complaints, seven were aimed directly at the Hewlett-Packard San Diego location. Also interesting, 24 of the 32 complaints were given permission to sue the company. (Seven were dismissed or withdrawn and one was closed as it was not in the department’s jurisdiction).

In a review of age discrimination complaints to California state officials last year, USA Today found that of 12 leading tech companies since 2012, Hewlett-Packard claims the top spot. (Cisco Systems was second on the list with 11 complaints). Hewlett-Packard officially denies that their workforce reduction plan targets older workers for layoffs instead stating that their selection process is “neutral.”

If you are experiencing age discrimination in the work force or if you have been forced into a hostile work environment of any type, we want to help you. Contact one of the experienced California employment law attorneys at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP.