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Law360 (May 7, 2020, 8:47 PM EDT) -- Shearman & Sterling LLP cooked up allegations of unethical conduct to throw a 62-year-old IT manager "on the street" during the novel coronavirus pandemic so it could save money as business slowed, the ex-worker said Thursday in New York federal court.
Mark Kanyuk claimed that his more than two-decade-long career at the firm abruptly ended when he was terminated April 15 as manager of global facilities and audiovisual technology, making him among the first to be let go as the firm tightened its belt amid the pandemic. He accused Shearman of dubiously claiming on his last day that he accepted kickbacks from vendors, which in actuality "was clearly a pretext for their plan to terminate" him because of his age.
The former IT manager claims Shearman offered no details about who made the ethics complaint and never gave him a chance to defend himself before ousting him, saying the firm's actions were intended "to cover up [its] true intent and likely the fact that it was engaging in COVID-19 related layoffs."
"Defendant's way of thanking plaintiff for his excellent 25-year tenure with the firm, was to (a) throw him on the street with two weeks' pay in the middle of a global pandemic and (b) humiliate and lodge blatantly false accusations of 'unethical conduct' against him without even bothering to elaborate on the purported allegations," Kanyuk said in his complaint.
He added that Shearman's actions indicated that the purported ethics claims against him were either "made up" or that the firm "knew [they] were likely false."
Shearman & Sterling issued a statement to Law360 that pushed back against Kanyuk's categorization of the events that led to his departure.
"We have not made any layoffs at the firm — whether in relation to COVID-19 or anything else," the firm said in its statement. "Mr. Kanyuk was terminated for cause, on the basis of substantial evidence of inappropriate conduct in the performance of his job. The plaintiff's allegations are completely without merit and the firm will contest them vigorously."
Kanyuk, who joined the firm in 1995, said in his lawsuit that he maintained a stellar employment record, including multiple promotions and no negative performance reviews.
He was promoted to his most recent position in June 2019, and he was the second oldest of about 80 workers and consultants in the firm's global technology solutions department, according to his complaint.
The job entailed a wide array of responsibilities, including managing IT in two dozen of the firm's offices worldwide, planning for the installation of audiovisual and data technology in new offices, hiring and overseeing vendors for those projects, and managing off-site servers that enabled lawyers and staffers to access files and technology remotely, according to Thursday's complaint.
But in recent years, Kanyuk said he has been subjected to ageist comments, including from his direct supervisor about two decades his junior who regularly calls him "old man," and from other colleagues who often crack jokes about how old he is.
After his ouster, Kanyuk claimed that the firm continued its cost-cutting in ways that were "more favorable to younger employees," who were given the chance to take voluntary leave or scale back their hours, according to the complaint.
The firm announced in late April that it offered all of its employees globally the opportunity to voluntarily take leaves of three to six months while receiving 30% of their usual pay, according to the firm. Should the employees perform pro bono work during the period, they will receive 40% of their typical pay, according to the firm.
Kanyuk's suit claims violations of the New York State Human Rights Law as well as the New York City Human Rights Law.
"It's important for companies to feel that they will be held accountable if they try to use this social unrest as an excuse to engage in discriminatory behavior," Kanyuk's counsel D. Maimon Kirschenbaum of Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP told Law360 Thursday.
Kanyuk is represented by D. Maimon Kirschenbaum and Leah Seliger of Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP.
Counsel information for the firm isn't yet available.
The case is Kanyuk v. Shearman & Sterling LLP, case number 1:20-cv-03567, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Additional reporting by Kevin Penton. Editing by Adam LoBelia.
Update: This story has been updated with comment from the firm.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
