Brownlee HAYDON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. the RAND CORPORATION, a Corporation, Defendant-Appellee

Brownlee Haydon brought this action against the Rand Corporation alleging that Rand discriminatorily discharged Haydon on the basis of age, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634 (1976). Hay-don appeals from the district court’s orders granting Rand’s motion for summary judgment and denying Haydon’s motion for reconsideration. We reverse and remand.

Rand made a substantial showing in support of its motion for summary judgment, demonstrating that business conditions necessitated a general reduction in the workforce, that the primary impact of the reduction was not on older employees, and that key management personnel had been dissatisfied with Haydon's job performance. We think, however, that Haydon has presented a material factual dispute concerning the question whether Rand’s dissatisfaction with Haydon’s work was mere ly a pretext to conceal a motive to discriminate against him because of his age.

As a long-time employee, Haydon earned a high salary and therefore was employed at a relatively high cost to Rand. Haydon argues that there is a direct relationship between his age and the cost of his employment, and that Rand…