A class action lawsuit has been filed against 3M Co. on behalf of up to 15,000 current and former workers who are over the age of 45. The suit alleges that the company discriminates against the plaintiffs in training, performance reviews, pay, promotions and layoffs. The suit further claims that the Six Sigma quality-improvement program, a data-heavy quality-control program developed at Motorola in the 1980s aimed at reducing error rates by pushing accountability, which was adopted by 3M is a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
Feb-01-06 Four plaintiffs added to Minnesota case.