Cal State to Pay $50,000 to Settle Age-Discrimination Complaint

The California State University system has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle an age-discrimination complaint involving an instructor at San Francisco State University who was passed over for a tenure-track job at age 61 in favor of a younger candidate without a doctorate, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced. The agency sued the university system on behalf of the instructor, Lawford Goddard, last year.

The university has denied that age discrimination was involved in the decision affecting Mr. Goddard, but it chose to settle as “a good business decision,” Susan Westover, a lawyer for the system, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The settlement, approved on Thursday by a federal judge, contains no admission of wrongdoing by the university. Under its terms, the university will grant Mr. Goddard emeritus status, which will give him the same benefits as a retired professor with tenure. The university also agreed to conduct training on the prevention of age discrimination in hiring. —Charles Huckabee