Wall Street watchdog accused of age discrimination

A Wall Street watchdog was accused on Monday of discriminating against its older, more highly compensated employees.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority undertook the discriminatory moves and ousted roughly 20 senior employees after it lost a lucrative contract with the New York Stock Exchange, according to a suit filed by one of the employees.

Brian McIntyre, a former analyst at Finra, claimed in court papers that each of the employees pushed out was over 40 years old.

McIntyre, who had worked for Finra for nearly 10 years before getting the boot in 2017, was replaced by a younger, less expensive employee after the regulator tried to cut costs in the wake of lost business, according to the suit.

“Finra utilized its pension eligibility termination as a pretext to disguise its discriminatory intent and effect upon its older employees,” the suit.

McIntyre, who had worked for NYSE and JPMorgan Chase earlier in his career, made $125,000 a year and collected a 25 percent bonus, making him a highly compensated employee, according to the suit.

But after Finra, a self-­regulatory group that’s funded by the brokerage industry, transferred his job to Maryland, he wasn’t offered another position, the suit claims.

The New Jersey resident was so desperate for his benefits that he reached out directly to then-Chief Executive Richard Ketchum by e-mail, pleading for his job, the suit claims.

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