AARP Attorneys Represent Allstate Agents Alleging Age Discrimination

What's at Stake

Terminating employees because of advancing age or approaching dates for payout of retirement benefits violates several federal laws, including ERISA and ADEA — those are the challenges in Romero I. At issue in Romero II are Allstate's reductions in pension plan benefits for older workers. All proceedings in Romero III have been stayed pending the court's resolution of the validity, enforceability and applicability of the releases signed by plaintiffs.

Case Status

All three cases, which are captioned Romero v. Allstate Ins. Co., as well as the companion suit filed by the EEOC are before the federal district court in Philadelphia. After several years of inaction by the court on more than a dozen motions filed by the parties, the 3rd Circuit reassigned the cases to a new district court judge. In order to essentially restart this litigation, the court is to decide whether the release Allstate required the terminated employee-agents to sign is valid and enforceable against them. The court's decision on this issue, which will determine whether the cases can move forward, is expected in early 2013.