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On May 6, 1993, petitioner was advised that his "open door"
request had been denied, and despite his objections, his employment
would be terminated on May 28, 1993. IBM offered petitioner an
opportunity to participate in its Corporate Transition Program
(CTP), whereby petitioner would be entitled to receive the
equivalent of 1-year's salary--$107,000--on the condition he
execute an appropriate release.
At this time, petitioner learned that IBM was hiring new,
younger attorneys (recent graduates or individuals about to
graduate from law school). Petitioner consulted an attorney who
advised him that he had a viable cause of action against IBM for
age discrimination. Accordingly, petitioner refused to participate
in the CTP.
Negotiations between IBM representatives and petitioner
ensued. During the course of these negotiations, petitioner
threatened to obtain an injunction against IBM to stop its layoff
program (at that time, IBM was laying off 30,000-40,000 employees).
On May 13, 1993, petitioner and IBM entered an agreement entitled
"Settlement Agreement and Release" (settlement agreement). The
settlement agreement states in pertinent part:
WHEREAS, Mr. Sherman has made certain
allegations about the propriety and lawfulness
of his having been designated as a "surplus
employee" resulting in claims of physical and
mental injury and stress;
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