By Ameet Sachdev | A
Bolingbrook woman who was laid off from McDermott Will & Emery last
year says the Chicago law firm fired her because of her age.

Barbara Badakhshanian alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal
court that the reason the firm gave for terminating her in February
2009 was “false.” She was 50 years old at the time and said in the suit
the firm told her she was being let go as part of a larger reduction in
force.

But she alleges that McDermott hired younger employees who were paid less than her to perform the duties of her job as a billing specialist, after she was terminated. Badakhshanian had worked at the firm since 2001 and said she “consistently received praise for her work performance.”

A firm spokeswoman declined to comment on the suit.

In her suit, Badakhshanian said she filed an age-discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in November. The EEOC closed its investigation in April by concluding that it could not determine whether McDermott violated the law.