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A Montgomery County public defender has won nearly $225,000 over claims that county's chief public defender discriminated against him due to his age.

Part-time public defender Dennis Caglia won the $224,457 verdict in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania earlier this month. The award included $160,000 in emotional harm and $1,877 in prejudgment. Caglia was also awarded $31,290 in back pay—an amount that was doubled due to the jury finding that the conduct was willful.

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, attorney Marc Weinstein, who, along with Denver attorney Ralph Lamar, represented Caglia, said employment records showing favoritism for younger employees helped convince the jury.

“It was the data. They saw, in spreadsheet form, who was preferred and who was not,” he said. “We allowed the jury to see and judge for themselves how hollow the [defendants'] explanations were.”

According to court papers, Caglia was born in 1956, and he started working for the Montgomery County Public Defender's Office in 1985. As of 2016, he was the oldest and longest-serving of the 11 part-time employees in the office. Caglia also had full benefits, and made $39,059. He worked as a trial attorney for the office.

Beginning in May 2016, Chief Public Defender Dean Beer allegedly started harassing Caglia by threatening to fire him. Caglia contended that Beer told him repeatedly that he planned to eliminate Caglia's position and replace it with a full-time attorney.

Although Beer said Caglia could switch to being a full-time employee, Beer offered only $47,000, which, according to Caglia, was the same salary for an employee with only 12 years experience. Caglia noted in court papers that, after he declined to make the switch, an attorney position was posted that offered a salary range between $53,000 and $80,000.

Caglia contended he was the only part-time attorney given an ultimatum of either going full-time or quitting. He argued that there was a 29-year-old part-time employee at the office who was also receiving full benefits, but Beer did not force him to go full-time. In his pretrial memo he said Beer had a history of discriminating against older workers, and “had a conspicuous habit of hiring attorneys under the age of 40.”

Caglia filed an age-discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Office in December 2016, contending that Beer was discriminating against him on the basis of age. Four days later he was fired.

In August 2018, while the case was pending, Caglia was rehired to a new position that did not include being a trial attorney, and he was not given benefits.

In its pretrial memo, Montgomery County maintained that Caglia was the only part-time employee who received full benefits. The county also contended that the decision to convert Caglia's position from part-time to full-time was budgetary and had been made six months before Caglia filed his EEOC complaint.

The county also noted in its pretrial memo, that, since Caglia was rehired at a salary of $40,637,  any claim for economic recovery should be limited.

Caglia's case went to trial before Eastern District Judge Harvey Bartle, and jurors heard testimony for two days. They rendered a verdict after deliberating for less than two hours, according to Weinstein.

Along with the award, Bartle also ordered that Caglia begin receiving benefits again and that his pension be fully restored.

Weinstein noted that attorney fees have also not yet been awarded. He estimated that the total costs to the county will likely come to more than $300,000.

“Montgomery County citizens deserve a government that welcomes capable employees of any age, and the law requires it too,” Weinstein said. “They must do better.”

Attorney Brian Phillips of the Montgomery County Solicitor's Office represented the county. Phillips did not return a call seeking comment. A representative of the Defenders Office said Beer was unavailable to comment for the story.