MAJOR CASE STUDY
Wrongful Termination and Age Discrimination
I. Case
Bobby Dean Nickel vs Staples Contract & Commercial INC ET AL
II. Facts of the Case
Bobby Dean Nickel, Plaintiff and Petitioner, v. Staples Contract & Commercial
INC ET AL, Defendant and Respondent
Plaintiff Bobby Nickel filed wrongful termination and age discrimination
against Staples Contract & Commercial, Inc. and Staples, Inc. The defendant
Staples, Inc. denies all of the plaintiff’s allegations of wrongful termination and
any suffered damages as a result of termination.
The Plaintiff, Bobby Nickel, was working for company Corporate Express,
starting in August of 2002. His position with the company was a facilities
manager. During his employment period with this company the defendant,
Staples Contract & Commercial INC ET AL, acquired the company Corporate
Express around 2008. A few years after the acquisition, Staples terminated
Mr. Nickels on July 19, 2011.
The plaintiff had received many positive reviews during his employment with
Corporate Express. After the acquisition, the plaintiff started receiving
harassment from co-workers and a member of upper management. Some of
the harassing comments were “Old goat” and “Old Coot” during company staff
meetings. Because Corporate Express pay scale was much higher than
Staples, the plaintiff alleged that Staples said they needed to “get rid of”
older, higher paid employees. The plaintiff was told by a receptionist with the
company that she had been ordered by the management to make false
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statements on the conduct of Mr. Nickel. The defendant, Staples, Inc., said
they did not terminate on basis of age or that they wrongfully terminated the
plaintiff, but instead claimed the plaintiff was terminated for stealing a bell
pepper from the company’s cafeteria. Staples also stated they had a zero-
tolerance for any kind of dishonesty.
III. Laws that Apply
Age Discrimination is discrimination of workers that are over the age of 40
and is a violation of Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967
and is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
(Noe 67)
In this case, The Fair Employment and Housing Act applies because prohibits
harassment and discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion,
sex. Government Codes § 12900-12906, §§ 12940-12951 (DFEH). The
California Wrongful Termination laws apply under Cal. Lab. Code § 2922
(CAEL)
IV. Final Decision of the Court
The verdict for this case was found on February 25, 2014 by a Jury. The jury
found in the favor of the Plaintiff Bobby Dean Nickel that the Defendant
