A jury awarded $1,599,778 to a tax collector who alleged he was fired because of his age. In 2005, Wesley Landsfeld, a 29-year veteran tax collector for the state Comptroller's Office, was terminated at the age of 57. He was told he was fired for insubordination, but he argued his age was the real reason. He noted that he was replaced by someone younger and he introduced an internal memo from the comptroller which referenced a problem concerning the office's aging workforce. In addition, Landsfeld said the state gave him no warning or counseling regarding his supposed insubordination and therefore failed to follow its own discipline policy. The defense denied discrimination and contended the memo was about ways to keep its older workers, not get rid of them.
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