CLEVELAND, OH (October __, 2020) – The Ohio Supreme Court recently declined to hear an appeal in an age discrimination suit in which a local executive sought evidence that his former employer claimed was protected by the Europe Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Vesuvius, the defendant in the case, is a United Kingdom-based company with locations in the US. It claimed it did not have to provide personnel files and witness information, asserting such discovery was protected by the GDPR, a newer EU privacy protection law.
Employment Attorney Jack Moran of the McCarthy, Lebit, Crystal & Liffman law firm was retained by the plaintiff, and requested the personnel information of several Vesuvius executives involved in the decisions that ultimately led to his client’s termination. The information requested by Mr. Moran included the addresses of witnesses, a disclosure required by American discovery rules but seemingly at odds with the GDPR.
“We are ecstatic for our client and pleased with the court’s decision. Victims of age discrimination should be entitled to the same fundamental rights of basic discovery, regardless of their employer or where that employer is located,” said Moran, adding, “we don’t think that the European regulation was intended to block a worker’s right to that information.”
