Joan Konsavage alleged that in the summer of 2013 her boss at Pennsylvania-based Mondelez International told her she should leave to make room for younger employees. She had been in her early 50s at the time and had joined the firm under its predecessor, Nabisco, in 1983.
Konsavage also alleged in a lawsuit that she was directed not to speak at staff meetings and that one section of the warehouse was tagged as "Deadwood" due to the older workers in that area.
When Konsavage complained, her supervisors demoted her and slashed her pay, she alleged. The company's human resources department also investigated Konsavage for manipulating a management survey to help her score well and then lied about doing so in an interview with HR, Mondelez claimed.
After the company fired Konsavage based on its investigation, she filed her discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in June 2015. Konsavage denied any wronging claimed by the company from its investigation.