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For approximately a decade, IBM has been giving fired employees information detailing a severance package that asks them to waive age-discrimination claims. This package also included a page listing the job titles and ages of workers being let go, until recently. Now IBM is withholding the information and instead offering the workers with the option of bringing claims in arbitration.

Questions:
1. Why do you think they are now allowing employees to accept a severance agreement and maintain their ability to bring an age-discrimination claim in arbitration?
2. Explain some of the elements of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990.
3. Why do you think there have been more age-discrimination claims filed with the EEOC in recent years?
4. What was the most interesting thing that you read in this article?

Source:
Barinka, A. (2014). Old and Fired at IBM: Tech Trendsetter Changes the Game, Guards Age Data. Bloomberg News, May 12 (Retrievable online at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-12/old-fired-at-ibm-trendsetter-offers-workers-arbitration.html)