By Christie Smythe
(Bloomberg) --A 54-year-old former analyst for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority sued the agency over his termination, claiming that he was part of a layoff that unfairly targeted older workers.
Brian McIntyre, who worked in the self-regulator’s New York office, said FINRA mostly sought to terminate older workers in a September wave of firings after the agency lost a regulatory contract with the New York Stock Exchange in 2016. Although the workers were allowed to apply for other positions at the agency, most older workers including McIntyre weren’t rehired, he alleged.
FINRA, which primarily oversees licensed broker-dealers, hired younger employees to fill the positions, McIntyre claimed in his lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan state court. Younger employees affected by the layoff were also given more favorable terms of separation and severance, he alleged.
McIntyre said he was earning $125,000 per year plus a 25 percent annual bonus and benefits, including pension benefits, at the time he was fired.
Michael Rote, a FINRA spokesman, declined to comment.
In 2017, workers in the U.S. who were older than 55-years-old held 25.5 percent of jobs in the financial activities industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although age discrimination remains a problem, almost 20 percent of those age 65 or older hold full-time jobs, up from 12 percent in 2000.
--With assistance from Jordyn Holman.To contact the reporter on this story: Christie Smythe in Brooklyn at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at [email protected] Paul Cox
