ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has agreed to pay $700,000 to state prison workers who claimed they were discriminated against because of their age and faced retaliation after reporting the allegations.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the settlement agreement filed last week allows the state Corrections Department to deny the allegations while agreeing to two years of monitoring.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission supervisor trial attorney Loretta Medina says about 70 employees will get a share of the settlement.
According to the complaint, two employees at the Los Lunas prison claimed they were passed up for a promotion or a job change because of their ages. They claimed the prison promoted and hired younger, less experienced employees.
State Corrections Department officials did not return the newspaper's calls and emails Monday.