First Union to Pay $58 Million in Age Bias Case

A federal judge in Washington approved the largest settlement of an age discrimination case, signing off on a $58.5-million agreement that resolves a lawsuit filed by former employees against First Union Corp., the nation’s sixth-largest bank. The settlement will be divided among 239 former employees of First American and Meritor banks who lost their jobs in 1992 and 1993 after First Union bought the smaller banks, which had branches in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. In the suit, filed in 1994, the former employees alleged that Charlotte, N.C.-based First Union laid off a disproportionate number of workers who were older than 40, black and of foreign origin when it bought First American Bankshares Inc. and Meritor Savings. In a joint statement with attorneys for the plaintiffs, First Union said, “The settlement agreement is not an admission of guilt or any wrongdoing by First Union, but reflects a desire to end costly litigation that would detract from First Union’s primary focus of serving customers and its commitment to equal employment opportunities for all of its employees.” First Union shares rose 25 cents to close at $50.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.