Every one of the 13 terminated employees was 59 or older, the complaint claims
A former engineer who spent more than 46 years at Unisys Corporation has filed an age discrimination lawsuit, alleging the company fired him at 73 as part of a layoff that hit only older workers.
The complaint, filed on September 15, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleges the worker was terminated on March 19, 2026 - just two weeks after being notified his role was being cut. He had been with the company since 1979.
According to the filing, he was far more than a long-serving employee. The complaint describes him as one of only three engineers responsible for maintaining the company's OS 2200 operating system, a platform Unisys continued to market and support for enterprise customers. At the time of his termination, the filing states, he was actively working on a project for the Internal Revenue Service and was the lead engineer on an unresolved system issue involving file synchronization.
His performance record backs that up, according to the complaint. No negative reviews in 46 years. No disciplinary action. Regular merit pay increases throughout his career. His supervisor scored him as a "Valued Contributor" in his 2025 performance review, writing that he "consistently exceed[ed] the ECS Solutions Development metrics" and "ensure[d] high-quality results," the filing states. In an earlier review, the same supervisor described him as "by far the largest code developer on the EXEC," according to the complaint.
Then came the layoff.
The complaint alleges the worker's "decisional unit" - the pool of employees evaluated for the reduction - included 176 people ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s. Of those, 13 were selected for termination. Every single one was 59 or older.
Not one employee under 59 was let go, the filing states.
The complaint cites a preliminary statistical analysis of the company's own disclosure under federal workforce-notification rules, which the filing alleges showed employees aged 60 or older were approximately 19 times more likely to be selected for termination.
No warning preceded the decision, the complaint alleges. No explanation was given for why specific workers were chosen.
The timing of what came next made the contrast sharper, according to the filing. On the same day the worker's employment ended, Unisys allegedly announced investments in its remaining - and younger - workforce, including an expanded bonus program, new learning pathways, and enhanced recognition programs. After the worker's departure, the complaint states, all or substantial portions of his responsibilities were assigned to younger employees.
The lawsuit does not stop at the layoff.
According to the filing, the worker reported to Unisys in March and April 2026 that he believed his termination was motivated by illegal age discrimination. He then applied for a Senior Systems Administrator role with the company around June 6, 2026, and was interviewed on or around July 28, 2026.
Unisys did not hire him, the complaint alleges. Instead, the company hired a younger candidate the filing describes as less qualified - one who had not reported age discrimination.
The complaint brings four claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act: that Unisys intentionally fired the worker because of his age, that the layoff selection process had a disproportionate impact on older employees, that the company refused to rehire him because of his age, and that it retaliated against him for reporting discrimination. The filing seeks back pay, reinstatement, compensatory damages, up to triple damages under the MHRA, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. The worker has demanded a jury trial.
The allegations in this complaint have not been tested, and no court has made any findings or rulings on the claims.
