Alabama City Settles Assistant Police Chief’s Age Bias Suit (1)

A Jacksonville, Ala., assistant police chief ended his age discrimination lawsuit against the city for denying him a promotion to chief, after the two sides reached a settlement agreement, according to federal court filings.

Gerald Wineman was 62 years old and had served as assistant chief for about 14 years when he unsuccessfully applied to replace the retiring chief of police. The mayor later acknowledged the city contradicted its civil service rules by hiring an outside candidate instead of Wineman, a qualified internal candidate.

The successful candidate was 32 years old and didn’t meet certain listed qualifications for the position, ...