Goodyear Suit Alleges Age Discrimination

A group of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. employees sued the company, saying its employee evaluation system discriminates against older workers.

A Goodyear spokesman said the company does not discriminate, but that it is revising the evaluation system to address workers’ concerns.

Retiree-advocacy group AARP and lawyers representing eight Goodyear workers filed the lawsuit in Ohio state court.

The suit contends that the Akron, Ohio-based firm’s evaluation system discriminated against older workers by giving a disproportionate number of them low grades, depriving them of raises or causing them to be fired.

Goodyear’s evaluation effort is similar to a forced ranking system at Ford Motor Co. that provoked a lawsuit last year by about 500 workers. It was settled for $10.6 million and Ford has since abandoned grades.