Melley v. Gillette Corp.

The question presented by this appeal is whether the plaintiff may bring an action against his employer for wrongful termination of employment on grounds of age discrimination without following the procedures set forth in G. L. c. 151B. We hold that the plaintiff may not bypass the provisions of that statute. Accordingly, we affirm the dismissal of his action.

Melley claims that the only reason he was fired was because of his age, that there is a strong public policy against age discrimination, see G. L. c. 149, § 24A, and G. L. c. 151B, § 4, and that an employer’s action which violates such a…