RENO, Nev. — National sporting goods retailer Scheels All Sports is facing a federal lawsuit after allegedly implementing a compensation policy that penalized older workers while giving younger employees a financial free pass.
According to a lawsuit announced Wednesday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Fargo, North Dakota-based retail giant violated federal law when it altered its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Under the new rules, employees aged 40 and older were forced to surrender and sell their company shares if they worked fewer than 1,000 hours in a year.
Meanwhile, employees under 40 were allowed to keep their shares, even if they worked the exact same reduced hours…