Age Discrimination: Former LA Times columnist awarded $7.1M

T.J. Simers, a former Los Angeles Times columnist, was awarded $7.13 million in damages this month in an age and disability discrimination lawsuit. The plaintiff alleged that his employer used his disability (complex migraine syndrome following a stroke) to make his work life miserable.

Simers, 65, earned $234,000 a year before leaving the Times, argued they reduced his workload and wished to replace him with a journalist half his age. He sought damages of more than $12 million.

Times editors argued that Simers’ work was reviewed with greater scrutiny not because of his age or disability, but because there was a concern he had violated ethical standards by using his position at the paper to promote a personal project (a TV comedy based on his life). Following an incident in which Simers posted a video loosely related to the show, he was suspended with pay while the Times investigated.

Simers was then told he would lose his column and was told he would become a reporter, but he was offered a one-year contract for a column. Simers then resigned from the Times, then worked for the Orange County Register, and retired less than a year later. Simers claimed he was told by Times publisher Eddie Hartenstein that he might lose his job if he chose to write about a charity that was in competition with another charity that Dodgers players were encouraged to donate to.

When calculating economic damages in employment suits, economic experts analyze both lost earnings, and any mitigating earnings from employment following termination, or in this case, resignation. You can read more about how re-employment impacts damages calculations in employment discrimination cases here.

The Times plans to appeal the decision. This decision will set precedence for future media cases.