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Ohio State Settles Age Bias Lawsuit Filed by 2 Instructors
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio State University has agreed to pay $765,000 and review its policies to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by two women who said they were forced to retire as instructors.
Julianne Taaffe and Kathryn Moon sued the school in 2015. Both taught English as a second language. Moon is 67 and Taaffe is 62.
They retired in late 2014 after the length of their contracts was cut. Their complaint alleged a program director equated working with older instructors as “herding hippos.”
The two women will split about $440,000 in back pay. The Columbus firm that filed the lawsuit with AARP attorneys will receive $325,000.
An Ohio State spokesman says the school doesn’t believe it acted unlawfully and settled “in the interest of resolving this matter.”