Important Ruling in Livermore Lab Case Preserves Age Discrimination Claims of 130 Laid Off Lab Employees, According to The Law Firm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 22, 2012, the court hearing the case of 130 employees laid off by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) in May, 2008 held that the plaintiffs can proceed with their age discrimination claims.  The court also continued the trial of the first five plaintiffs to October 1, 2012.

The case concerns a layoff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that closely followed the lab's transition from management by the University of California to management by LLNS, which is led by Bechtel National.  In exchange for millions in management fees, Bechtel promised to improve efficiency at the lab.

According to Gary Gwilliam of the law firm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer, which represents the plaintiffs in this case, "The court's ruling that age discrimination is formally back in the case is good news, and we are convinced that we will be able to proceed to trial on that theory.  We also informed the court that the official policy of the Department of Energy regarding age discrimination at the lab is NOT to enforce the over/under 40 rule that the defense attorneys have advocated.  It appears that they have been asking the judge to enforce a different rule than the government allows in these cases."

The case is Andrews, et al. v. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, Case No. RG09453596.  Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint and the Department of Energy workforce restructuring policy are available upon request.

Contact:  Please feel free to contact Gary Gwilliam of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer for further comment at (510) 832-5411 ext. 233 or [email protected].

SOURCE The Law Firm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer