This story comes to us from Jackson County, Kansas where last week a jury awarded $131,340 to a former car dealership employee, Timothy McGeeney. The 48-year old former Finance and Insurance Director of Superior Volvo alleged that he was terminated in June 2005 after four years of employment, and replaced by a less-experienced, younger (27 years old) woman who had fewer qualifications (and who was cheaper). At issue was that Mr. McGeeney had never received a single poor job performance evaluation during his tenure.

The jury agreed.

Commentary: A large case? No. Groundbreaking ruling? No. However, we rarely see one-off age discrimination complaints pursued in court (they’re either settled beforehand or never filed due to weak evidence), so this is simply a good learning example for corporate compliance/HR departments and an excellent reminder to document all employment decisions. Including attorneys’ fees to be submitted by the plaintiff’s lawyers (as well as their own), the dealership’s “all-in” costs in this case will likely be in excess of $500,000.