NEW YORK, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- In a decision that eventually may affect millions of workers, IBM says it will pay $320 million to settle part of a pension plan lawsuit.
With court approval, the money would go to some 130,000 current and former employees in the class action suit alleging age discrimination in the 1990s, the New York Times said Thursday.
U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy ruled a year ago the company discriminated against its older workers in the 1990s when it changed its traditional pension plan twice, leaving them with what is known as a cash-balance plan.
Under the settlement, IBM's liability in the case would be limited to an additional $1.4 billion if the courts uphold a ruling that a new pension plan illegally discriminates against its older workers.
Still unresolved are the two claims in the class-action lawsuit that pertain to cash-balance pensions. IBM intends to appeal those claims.
