Ex-Hershey IP Attorney Loses on Race, Gender Bias Claims

A former Hershey Co. intellectual property lawyer can’t proceed with a suit alleging he was discriminated against when the company terminated him by saying it was eliminating his position, but then hiring “a younger, African-American woman” for the same job, the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Nov. 4.

Kurt L. Ehresman’s claims were barred by an agreement he signed when he left the company, the court said.

Ehresman, a 52-year-old white man, worked as Hershey’s Senior Counsel for Global Intellectual Property until Hershey told him it was eliminating his position. Months after his termination, Ehresman said Hershey created a “Head ...