One current and one former employee of 3M Co. recently filed suit against the company, alleging that its implementation of Six Sigma discriminates against older workers. The lawsuit, filed by Clifford Whitaker, 60, and Michael Mucci, 55, alleges that 3M favors Six Sigma training among its younger employees, defined in the suit as employees under the age of 45. Whitaker, a senior manufacturing engineer in 3M’s stationary products department, and Mucci, who left the company in September 2004, claim in the lawsuit that when 3M executives chose about 1,000 workers to be trained in Six Sigma, it favored employees younger than 45.

3M has denied the claims of age discrimination and reports on its Web site that it implemented Six Sigma in 1995. Since then, it has trained more than 30,000 employees in the methodology. According to 3M’s Web site, the company planned to complete Green Belt training for all salaried employees by the end of 2004.

As many as 15,000 current and former employees could be affected by the suit, as the plaintiff’s attorneys are seeking “class action” status for it.

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