A former sales executive with WideOrbit has filed an age discrimination suit against the company in the U.S. seeking lost pay and benefits, as well as damages for emotional distress.
Jon P. Crossland, who was with the San Francisco-based software company for 13 years, has filed the suit in Superior Court in the State of Washington. Crossland, who helped develop WideOrbit’s Radio division as director of sales, has retained employment litigator Judith A. Lonnquist.
In his statement of claim, Crossland says that in Feb. 2018, WideOrbit informed him that Canada was being removed from his territory to be overseen by a younger, less-experienced rep. During the course of his 13 years in sales, Crossland says the company’s Canadian radio market share increased from three per cent to approximately 80 per cent.
Furthermore, Crossland’s claim details an alleged incident in March 2018, at a company Product & Sales meeting in San Diego, where WideOrbit’s VP of Television Tony Coonce made a formal presentation to the plaintiff in which he was handed a hard hat that read “Caution Old Zone.” Crossland, 64, was embarrassed and immediately returned the hat.
A few months later in June, Crossland was informed by the company’s senior VP of sales that he needed to come up with an “exit plan.” The statement of claim maintains he already had recorded $7 million in sales for the year and had another $7 million pending for the remainder of 2018. Crossland was presented with a severance agreement in July and officially terminated on Aug. 3.
Prior to joining WideOrbit, Crossland worked for 12 years in sales management at CBSI and Wicks Broadcast Solutions, and before that held various radio station management roles including sales manager of the Entercom stations in Seattle.
WideOrbit is one of the leading providers of traffic, sales, and accounting software to the TV, radio, and cable network industries.
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