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Plano ISD hit with age discrimination suit
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
Plano ISD laid off more than 300 employees last year due to a severe cut in state funding. Now, at least one of those employees is crying foul and has filed a lawsuit against the district.
Ben Cowling, 55, worked as an electrician with the district for 25 years before being laid off as part of the district's reduction in force. However, in a federal lawsuit, Cowling said the layoff was due to his age and is seeking relief under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967.
In the lawsuit, filed April 30, Cowling claims he was the subject of verbal abuse by his supervisor about two weeks before being laid off, but did not detail how the abuse was age related. He said he reported the incident to Bill Couzynse, the West Cluster Manager, who took no disciplinary action against the supervisor. Couzynse allegedly gave Cowling a verbal warning for speaking to the supervisor with a "loud and disrespectful tone" the same day Cowling said the decision was made to terminate his employment.
McKinney-based law firm Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Joplin has been hired to represent the district in the case. Charles Crawford, an attorney with the firm, said he was in the process of looking into the allegations and formulating a response.
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