A jury has ordered Costco to pay a longtime former employee more than $2 million for illegally terminating his employment due to his age.
Stuart Nover, 77, sued the membership-only warehouse club two years ago, claiming he was wrongly terminated from the Bridgewater store following 22 years of employment after taking a company approved COVID leave program.
On July 2, a jury voted 7-1 that Costco intentionally discriminated against Nover due to his age. They awarded him $2 million in punitive damages, along with back pay and monetary damages for emotional distress, court records show.
Paul Galligan, one of the attorneys representing Costco, said Tuesday the company has no comment on the case or the jury verdict.
Nover was hired as a pharmacist for the Bridgewater Costco on May 26, 1999, and dismissed in the summer of 2021, according to the lawsuit, filed Oct. 19, 2021, in New Jersey Superior Court.
The lawsuit claimed Costco was engaged in a special COVID leave program, and that Nover was eligible to take time off while remaining employed and receiving full pay, along with health insurance and other benefits.
Nover took leave in May 2021 and advised his supervisors he would return on June 1, 2021, the day after the special leave program ended, the suit states.
But when Nover tried to return, he could not get back on the work schedule, according to the lawsuit.
“Throughout the months of June and July of 2021, the plaintiff advised the defendants … that he was ready, willing, able and desirous of returning to work as a pharmacist for the defendants, Costco,” the suit says.
In mid-June, Nover received a call from the district manager, who told him he could not return to work at the Bridgewater Costco “since the store was too busy, and they did not believe he could handle the workload,” the lawsuit says.
The suit says despite the call, Nover tried to get back to work at Costco but none of his supervisors returned his calls.
The suit claimed Costco constructively discharged Nover in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Nover claimed was unlawfully terminated based on his age, and based on their “unlawful perceptions” of his ability to do his job.
After a six-day trial in Middlesex County, a jury found that Costco had violated state anti-discrimination laws.
The jury awarded Nover $160,000 in back pay, and $10,000 in emotional distress damages. In a second phase of the trial, the same jury determined Costco’s actions were especially egregious and awarded Nover $2 million in punitive damages.
Stories by Anthony G. Attrino
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.