"Ikea hit with new class action lawsuit alleging age discrimination", 22 Feb 2019

Ikea has been hit with its fifth lawsuit in just over a year in U.S. courts, alleging age discrimination.

The first was in Philadelphia in 2018, when 54-year-old employee Frank Donofrio complained that he was unable to be promoted to management despite excellent performance. The second and third were filed in August 2018; one of the plaintiffs in those cases, a woman with the last name Gorbeck, alleged both age discrimination and gender discrimination regarding pay equity. A fourth case was filed against Ikea in December 2018. And now, Brandon Paine, a 48-year-old employee at an Ikea store in New Haven, Conn., has filed a class action lawsuit against Ikea in his district court. According to Paine’s LinkedIn profile, he has been an Active Selling Leader at the company since 2004. Paine alleges that Ikea demoted him, as part of a larger (and controversial) restructuring effort at the company in the United States, and systematically turned him down for promotions based on his age...

An Ikea spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of Paine’s lawsuit, but sent Fast Company the following statement:

At IKEA Group, we have an unwavering commitment to inclusion. ...IKEA Group takes accusations of any form of discrimination very seriously, and we were disappointed to learn of the lawsuit filed by Mr. Paine. As this is pending litigation regarding a co-worker, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further. We will remain committed to creating an inclusive work environment that is free of discrimination...

[Also refers to HP (Hewlett-Packard), Google (part of Alphabet), and Marriott]