Michelle Seidner, a former assistant district attorney from the DA’s Office’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit, has filed a lawsuit against DA Larry Krasner.
Inquirer.com reported that Seidner said despite having excellent performance, etc., she was fired in January 2018 without any explanation allegedly because of her age. During this time frame, she was 60 years old. She is seeking damages for “lost earnings; punitive damages; and any other relief that the court may deem appropriate.”
Seidner says she received a letter on January 5, 2018, saying that if she did not retire or resign within three days, she would be terminated on January 12. It was reported that Seidner was fired on January 12.
Seidner claims that the office kept on two other assistants, who were less experienced then she was and younger.
Seidner is the fourth person to come forward with a situation like this. On September 5, former homicide prosecutors Carlos Vega and Joseph Whitehead Jr. filed a similar suit stating both were fired in January 2018 because of their age. Vega was 61 during the firing and Whitehead was 64.
Additionally, Tami Levin, a former director of office’s Victim Witness Services Unit, filed a suit on July 19. She alleged that she was fired at age 51 because of her age and her race (Levin is white.) Movita Johnson-Harrell, a black woman, replaced Levin and at the time she was also 51 at the time. Johnson-Harrell has since left the role and is a state representative.
During Levin’s lawsuit, the law department agreed that she was not given a reason for termination. However, the city and Krasner deny that “employees or representatives engaged in any discriminatory, retaliatory, or otherwise inappropriate actions,” according to Inqurier.com.
The same firm that represented Levin is representing Seidner. The firm is Console Mattiacci Law, which based in Center City.
