JEFFERSON CITY — Late Friday evening, a Cole County jury handed down a $1,700,000 verdict against the State of Missouri Department of Corrections (“DOC”). The jury found that the state agency violated the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) by subjecting an almost 28-year veteran probation and parole officer to age discrimination and executing a campaign to end her career.
The former officer, who joined the DOC in 1991, was subjected to a workplace culture dominated by offensive ageist stereotypes. Senior DOC management routinely demeaned older personnel, openly urging leadership to “get rid of the deadwood,” force out “old-timers,” “hire more millennials,” and bring in “new blood”. One DOC manager even repeatedly demeaned the veteran officer by addressing her as “mom”.
Uncontroverted evidence presented at trial exposed a systemic pattern across the division: experienced public servants in their 50s and 60s were forced into early retirement or ousted under pretextual grounds, while new officer hires were directed almost exclusively toward individuals in their 20s and 30s.
When the veteran officer formally complained to management about the pervasive age bias, the DOC manufactured a pretextual termination. In August 2018, while assisting personnel at the Cape Girardeau Police Department, the officer courageously stepped in to help jailers and police personnel subdue a violent offender who had escaped their handcuffs.
Despite her heroics, the DOC weaponized the event nearly six months later, accusing her of possessing her authorized service firearm in a “secure area”, to justify her unlawful termination after she spoke out against age discrimination.
The veteran officer was represented at trial by Cyrus Dashtaki of Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC and Jon Berns of Dobson Berns, LLP. “This was a textbook example of age discrimination in violation of the MHRA,” said attorney Cyrus Dashtaki. “Calling a 27-year veteran officer ‘mom’ while plotting to clear out ‘deadwood’ and ‘old-timers’ isn’t just offensive—it is illegal,” said Dashtaki.
Dashtaki also expressed profound gratitude to the jury members, whose late-night verdict held a powerful state agency accountable: “Serving on a weeklong trial demands great sacrifice, but this jury’s service was a vital act of justice. By holding the government responsible for violating Missouri law, this jury defended the dignity and civil rights of every working Missourian,” stated Dashtaki.
Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC is an employment discrimination law firm dedicated exclusively to representing employees against unlawful workplace discrimination based on age, race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and unlawful retaliation. Please visit www.Dashtaki.com for more information.