An executive fired by Airborne Express has been awarded $3.3 million by a federal judge in an age discrimination lawsuit.
In April, a federal jury found the Seattle-based overnight delivery service discriminated against John M. Kelley, 49, of Dracut, when it fired him as Northeast field services manager in 1993, just three months after he had received a superior job evaluation.Kelley, who had spent 20 years with the company and was then 46, was replaced by a 39-year-old, said his lawyer, David Hanrahan.
The jury awarded Kelley $250,000 for emotional distress, $253,000 in back pay, and $1 million in lost future earnings.
Because the jury determined the discrimination was willful, the award was automatically doubled. U.S. District Judge W. Arthur Garrity had the option of adding to the award - which he did Wednesday.
The company gave several reasons for firing Kelley, but none of the complaints had been mentioned in his previous job evaluations, Hanrahan said.
David Anderson, lawyer for Airborne Express, said the company was considering an appeal.