[ by Melanie Gretchen ] A FINRA arbitration panel last week ruled that a Citigroup business unit had violated the civil rights of a former branch manager ("BOM"), and must pay out $500,000.  The BOM claims he was fired because of his age, and the panel agreed. Lawyers for the claimant said winning a discrimination case against a brokerage is rare -  as claimants need ironclad proof that age was the only factor in the dismissal - especially under Florida law - including blatant statements of age bias made by the employer. The 1/25/12 ruling found that Citigroup Global Markets violated Florida's civil rights statute in 2008 when it terminated Edward Laurence Bowne, then 66, from his position as branch manager in Stuart, Florida.  He had been an employee of Citigroup since 1997. FINRA Findings and Allegations. In 2004, Citigroup hired a new regional manager who oversaw Mr. Bowne and other branch managers.  The other branch managers told Bowne that they were being "forced" back into broker positions and replaced by younger employees. Sure enough, that's what happened to Bowne - only the way Citi handled the "switch" was contemptible.  According to Bowne, while he was on family leave after his sister died, Citigroup "offered" him a position as a broker and replaced him with a 42-year-old manager.  Bowne's 'new' manager made frequent disparaging remarks to Bowne about age.  In short, his experience was similar to that of other Citigroup managers in the region. The panel's decision. The FINRA arbitration panel found that while Citigroup violated state law, it did not breach a federal discrimination statute as Bowne had contended.  Age must be the only factor in a dismissal, under federal law. The FINRA panel gave no explanation for its decision.  Citi was pleased it was not charged with violating federal law.  It does, however, disagree "with the decision regarding liability under the comparable Florida law and are reviewing our options," according to a Citigroup spokesperson. [Reuters, 1/31/12]