BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Federal jurors awarded $125,000 in punitive damages to a 43-year-old maintenance man Thursday after deciding Business Information Storage Inc. (BIS) failed to rehire him because of his age.
The jury also gave Gary Laug of Bridgetown $108,160 in support while he seeks a new and better job than he now has, $13,480 for emotional distress and $3,360 back pay.
That last figure represents the difference between what he would have earned and lower wages at his current job, according to his attorneys, Randolph H. Freking and Kelly Mulloy-Myers. They said Mr. Laug had worked for BIS for 10 years when he was fired in 1995. BIS said then that his dismissal had nothing to do with the quality of his work.
In 1997, Mr. Laug saw a BIS help-wanted ad and applied, but he was not even interviewed, Mr. Freking said. Instead, BIS hired someone in his 20s, the attorney continued.
That failure to rehire violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, jurors said.
Mr. Laug also claimed his firing was age-related, but U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith dismissed that claim before trial. Mr. Freking said her decision would be appealed.
BIS attorney H.E. Mason could not be reached for comment.
