Filing claims neither HR professional assessed if the overseas firing complied with US law
A 64-year-old lab manager says she was fired after her employer's U.S.-based HR team failed to question a termination order from overseas.
Jana Mekhhal, who holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, is suing Akzo Nobel Coatings Inc. for age discrimination, alleging that the global paints and coatings company pushed her out of her role as Development and Solutions Lab Manager Americas at its Reading, Pennsylvania facility in December 2023 — not because of her performance, but because of her age.
The case, filed February 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, puts the spotlight on a scenario that will feel uncomfortably familiar to many HR leaders: what happens when a manager based abroad decides to fire an American employee, and the local HR team simply goes along with it?
According to the filing, Mekhhal's supervisor, Frank Vergeer, a Technical Director based in Amsterdam, told her during a routine virtual check-in that she was being let go because she lacked the "leadership and continuous improvement skills" needed for the company's next industry transformation. In the same conversation, he praised the performance of her team.
Mekhhal alleges there was no warning. No performance issues flagged in her October or November check-ins. No written concerns. She says she had met or exceeded expectations throughout her time at Akzo Nobel, where she had worked...
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