Pa. Banking Secretary hit with discrimination charge

A suburban Philadelphia man has filed a federal complaint against Pennsylvania’s banking secretary alleging the government agent has failed on numerous times to hire the plaintiff for an investigator position due to discriminatory reasons.

Brookhaven, Pa. resident Peter F. Schweikert filed the pro se discrimination action against Glenn E. Moyer, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Banking, on Jan. 13 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

In his complaint, Schweikert accuses the defendant of violating the Age Discrimination in Employment act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

Schweikert, who is 63, claims that the defendant failed to hire him on 14 separate occasions dating back to October 2008.

He claims the defendant discriminated against him because of his age and because he is blind in one eye.

The complaint alleges that the Pennsylvania Department of Banking would have been aware of Schweikert’s age and medical condition when reviewing his state employment personnel file.

The suit further asserts that the Banking Department maintains that it does not have records listing current employees’ ages at the time of hire, information that Schweikert had sought through a request under the state’s Right To Know law.

Schweikert, the suit states, had sought the date of birth records for 65 employees hired between Jan. 1, 2008 and May 22, 2011.

Schweikert also claims that under the Right To Know law, he requested the number of disabled and non-disabled employees out of the 65 new hires, but he was similarly rebuffed, with the department saying no such records exist.

Schweikert filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Nov. 15, 2009. He was issued a right-to-sue letter in early November of last year.

He had also filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Schweikert seeks to be hired by the Banking Department. He also seeks damages in the form of lost wages, injunctive relief, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, pre-and-post-judgment interest, attorney’s fees and other court costs.

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-00166-LS.