In May 2011, plaintiff Boyce Jeffries, 54, the Parks & Recreation Director for the city of Galt, was terminated from his position after working for the city for 27 years. He claimed he was terminated because of his age. Jeffries sued the city of Galt, alleging the city’s actions constituted age discrimination and wrongful termination. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Jeffries’ termination was part of a layoff program by the city to save on costs. Counsel contended that the city manager targeted older workers with the thought that these workers could take advantage of pension and/or other job positions due to their experience. Plaintiff’s counsel pointed to an interview the city manager allegedly gave to a newspaper, The Galt Herald, that attributed statements to him about how he allegedly told those he was eliminating from the workforce that the layoff plan was designed to target older employees and protect younger city employees. The city asserted that Jeffries’ termination was part of a layoff plan created because of a deficit caused by increasing expenses and declining revenues as a result of the recession. It claimed the decision to include Jeffries in the layoff involved a number of factors, including which positions would result in the maximum savings with the least impact to city employees and services overall. Thus, the city denied Jeffries’ allegations, and claimed that the layoffs were due to the lack of city finances from the previous three years and deficits projected into future years. It further denied that the city manager gave any such statement to the newspaper., Jeffries was 54 years old and had worked for the city for 27 years when he was laid off. He initially could only find work at Ikea and later as a shift supervisor at Rite Aid. In October 2013, he was allowed to return to work with the city, but as a recreation coordinator. In the new city position, Jeffries worked for the employee that he had previously supervised and he had a greatly reduced salary than what he previously earned with the city. Thus, Jeffries sought recovery of emotional distress damages, and past and future lost wages and benefits.