The State - News from Aug. 18, 1987

A San Francisco federal court jury ruled that Cutter Laboratories should pay $1.63 million for firing older employees in favor of younger ones during a massive layoff in 1982. A six-member jury found that the Berkeley pharmaceutical company, a subsidiary of Miles Laboratories, willfully violated federal laws forbidding discrimination against employees aged 40 and over. The suit was filed by nine sales employees around the country. Jack Knebel, an attorney for the company, said the verdict may be appealed. He said 1,200 people overall lost their jobs and two plants were closed when Cutter stopped selling an intravenous solution.