A former Lockheed Martin engineer, who sued for age discrimination after being laid off at age 66, was awarded $51.6 million by a jury in a federal court in New Jersey. This may be the highest amount ever awarded to an individual in an age discrimination case, and stands as a stark reminder that age discrimination remains a big — and potentially very expensive — issue for HR.

Robert Braden was a mid-level manager who spent almost 29 years at a Lockheed Martin facility in Moorestown, NJ. He claims that he was a target in a reduction in force plan to replace older workers with younger ones, and that he and other older workers consistently received less pay and lower reviews and raises than younger workers.

In his lawsuit complaint, Braden said that he was the oldest of six engineers in Lockheed's Electronic Systems-Mission Systems and Sensors unit, that his title was project specialist, senior staff, and that he was the only one let go in that round of layoffs. He said that he was given no specific reason for his termination and that his job performance had been "excellent." He also said that supervisors and company executives regularly made remarks about older workers.

The $51.6 award breaks down like this:

• $50 million for punitive damages under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination,

• $520,000 for economic loss,

• $520,000 for willful action against the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (ADEA) and

• another $520,000 for pain and suffering.

(Note that in Texas, the size of the this verdict would have been greatly reduced by the application of damages caps passed by the Texas legislature to protect companies who commit this type of wrongful conduct.)

Discrimination against older workers remains a significant problem

While the size of the Lockheed verdict is certainly surprising, workplace age discrimination, unfortunately, is not. A 2013 AARP study found that almost two in three workers ages 45 to 74 said they have experienced workplace age discrimination.

And with an aging US population and ongoing economic uncertainty, more people plan to or must stay in the workforce well past the age of 65. As a result, managers and supervisors should take steps to ensure all employees are vigilant and sensitive to behavior and practices that can be grounds for an age discrimination claim.