Apple senior manager sues Apple for discriminatory age-ism

Another day, another lawsuit. Apple is being sued for age-ism by a senior manager who says he was no longer seen “as part of Apple’s future.”

As noted by Bloomberg, Donald Shruhan Jr., who has worked for Apple since 2008 and is now 67, alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in San Jose, California, that he wasn’t awarded restricted stock units, a retention bonus of at least $800,000 or a merit increase in 2019 even though he was given an excellent performance review. 

Shruhan claims he was asked last year to submit his plan for retirement, although he hadn’t indicated any such intention. “This was an age-based assumption on the decision-maker’s part, with no basis in fact,” he argues. At the same time, Apple aimed to demote him, according to the lawsuit.

Shruhan is a director in Apple’s Intellectual Property Enforcement unit, where he has managed efforts to combat counterfeiting in the Asia-Pacific region. He has also served as a veteran senior manager on Apple’s global security team, he said.

Per the lawsuit, the average age of a U.S. worker is 42, but its 31 at Apple.