A federal jury has awarded $397,948 in backpay and damages to a 56-year old veteran foreman of a Baltimore, Maryland-based wholesaler of burial caskets who was fired due to age discrimination after three decades of work for the company, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced.

The EEOC's lawsuit said that Fred W. Kuehnl, who upholstered the interior of caskets and served as foreman of the Warfield-Rohr Casket Company's trimming division for 29 years, was fired by CEO Howard Ayres on April 28, 2000, due to ageism. Warfield-Rohr, founded in 1870, is one of the oldest casket makers and funeral supply firms in the Mid-Atlantic, with operations in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware.

"Although it took over five years, it feels good when you know that you were right," said Kuehnl after the verdict was delivered following a four-day trial. "I feel vindicated for the discrimination I suffered because of my age." In addition to the nearly $400,000 in lost wages, the EEOC is requesting that the court also award equitable relief to Kuehnl, including front pay and an injunction prohibiting the company from future acts of age discrimination.