Eden Prairie, Minn. – Following an original age discrimination lawsuit filed by five former employees in June 2000 against Supervalu, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson recently ruled that additional former employees could become part of a class action lawsuit against the company.
The former employees allege that under corporate restructurings, locally based Supervalu's upper management terminated employees based on their ages, in violation of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
The court's recent ruling denied Supervalu's appeal and ordered the wholesale grocer and retailer to "immediately comply with" an order issued earlier by Magistrate Judge Lebedoff. The order requires Supervalu to provide the names and last-known addresses of more than 100 employees who lost their jobs in corporate restructurings beginning in 1998.