In one of the largest cases in the 33 year history of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer, we have filed a lawsuit on behalf of 130 former Lawrence Livermore Lab workers who claim that illegal widespread layoffs specifically targeted the highest salaried senior staff members who were closest to retirement.
Although a recently published New York Times article, Employee Lawsuit Exacerbates Issues at Livermore Lab focused on the failure of Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC to deliver on promises to create greater efficiency and increased employment, even more disconcerting is the manner in which the former Lab workers were treated.
The defendant in the case is Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC, the mostly private-sector coalition managing the Lab since 2008, led by Bechtel and including University of California, BWX Technologies, Inc. and Washington Group International, Inc.
The following is the beginning in a series about the Lawrence Livermore Lab, it’s former workers, and our pending lawsuit whose trial is scheduled to begin February 6, 2012.
Founded in 1952 by the University of California for the purpose of providing competition to Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory became one of the “crown jewels” of the United States’ science establishment. While rocketing to world prominence, the Lab was also a place where many workers began lifelong careers, met new friends, and began long lasting relationships.
Results of Privatization
Through September of 2007, the Regents of the University of California managed the Lab. The privatization of the management of Lawrence Livermore Lab, which occurred in October, 2007, has failed to create cost savings, greater efficiency, increased employment, or improved security to date. In fact, just the opposite has occurred as Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC has failed in all aspects of their intended mission. The most glaring failure was their instituted cutbacks to roughly 6,800 permanent positions down from 9,400 permanent positions in 2005.
Bechtel officials assert that a combination of the loss of $100 million in federal appropriations, increased tax obligations, and inflation were to blame for the switch from hiring to firing plans. But these claims ring hollow in the face of today’s facts. Peter Stockton a senior investigator at non-profit Project on Government Oversight who has studied the Lab since the 1970′s maintains:
“Everybody thought that with privatization we could save money and get more transparency. It’s done pretty much the opposite”
Some of the most compelling information about the wrongful terminations of our 130 plaintiffs point to age discrimination:
- Average age of the 130 plaintiffs: 55 years old
- Average time on the job: 20 years
- All of our 130 plaintiffs are over the age of 40
Our 130 plaintiffs were part of a group of 440 workers laid off by Lawrence Livermore Labs. Of the total group of 440 workers laid off, 93% were over the age of 40.
To learn more about J. Gary Gwilliam's book Getting A Winning Verdict In My Personal Life: A Trial Lawyer Finds His Soul , please
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