Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Buckley School : Harassment: Maintenance worker says he was fired from the exclusive institution because of his age.

Contending he was harassed, discriminated against and ultimately fired because of his age, a 57-year-old maintenance worker filed a discrimination lawsuit Wednesday against the exclusive Buckley School.

Ronald Glasgow said he was persecuted from “day one” by a younger, less experienced supervisor because of his age, and then--despite 20 years of maintenance experience and having received verbal and written commendations for his work--fired in September, 1993, 10 months after he was hired.

In addition to the school, the suit names as defendants the supervisor, Timothy Ekeberg, as well as headmaster Walter Baumhoff and business administrator Carmen Rodman.

“It was assumed that because of his age, he was not capable of meeting his standards,” said Glasgow’s attorney, Maria Hanna Joseph of Los Angeles. “We’re seeking . . . in excess of $1 million or $2 million.”

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges a pattern of harassment and “intentional interference with the appearance of the quality of (Glasgow’s) job performance” by Ekeberg, who was described as about 37.

A receptionist at the private school--known for educating many movie stars’ children and having entertainment celebrities on its board of directors--said Wednesday that officials were aware of a possible suit, but headmaster Baumhoff said he knew nothing of the case and could not comment. Ekeberg could not be reached.

Glasgow was summarily fired after Ekeberg contended that a potentially dangerous wire was discovered dangling from a light fixture, the suit says. Glasgow contends he inspected the light but performed no maintenance on it, as there appeared to be nothing wrong except for a burned-out light bulb. He instructed a janitor to change the bulb, he said, and left for lunch.

When he returned one hour later, “he was handed his walking papers,” Joseph said.

The suit alleges his firing may have been orchestrated in advance by Ekeberg, who, it claims, regularly made disparaging remarks about other older employees and older relatives of students.

“The substantial paperwork and necessary approval of plaintiff’s termination seems to have been completed in just one hour. . . . Such diligence suggests that Ekeberg and Buckley (School) operate in a remarkably efficient manner in terminating employees,” the suit reads. “The alternative deduction is that plaintiff’s termination had been pre-planned.”

“This was all done on a lunch hour,” said Joseph, who specializes in discrimination cases.