Also, it is a bad idea to give that same employee a “retire-or-be-fired” ultimatum shortly after they return from bypass heart surgery. Am I making this stuff up? When have you known me to do that? No, these allegations come from a recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) press…
Articles Posted in Age
In January, a 78-year-old receptionist was named “Employee of the Year.” In February, she was fired.
This sounds like something that might interest the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Oh, wait. Would you look at this EEOC press release? It seems her employer may have engaged in age and disability discrimination. Let’s see why the EEOC believes this: (I mean, other than “duh!”) According to the lawsuit, the…
Here are 105,000 reasons not to force an older worker to retire
“When are you going to retire?” “Why don’t you retire at 65?” “What is the reason you are not retiring?” A company manager at a manufacturing and distribution company allegedly asked these questions of a direct report as she approached her 65th birthday, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity…
A court correctly dismissed claims of age discrimination, IMO. But, this employment lawyer still has a bone to pick.
Last night, I read a NJ Appellate Division opinion about a plaintiff in his fifties who claimed his age motivated the defendant to end his employment. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. There were many reasons why the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of…
Next time, maybe she’ll just get that tattoo.
Trust me. The title of this post will make sense in about a minute or two. Last year, a small sports bar and restaurant sought summary judgment to dismiss the age discrimination claims one of its former employees had asserted against the company. The company’s position was that it ended…
Did this guy’s performance really nose-dive? Or did his age motivate his abrupt termination?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. One of your employees has been with the company for several years. Over that span, they reported to the same manager, who consistently provided positive feedback and good performance reviews. All is well. Then, the manager leaves. And there’s a new sheriff…
What do you think? Is this a hostile work environment? (Spoiler alert: no.)
Some jobs stink. But that doesn’t make the office a “hostile work environment.” For example, last night, I read about a manager whose employer transferred her to a unit facing a backlog of 12,000 cases. Following the transfer, the manager claimed she endured “constant negative treatment,” was the only one…
A bipartisan group in Congress wants to make it easier for employees to prove age discrimination
On Monday, three House Republicans and three House Democrats reintroduced the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA), billed as a bipartisan proposal to strengthen anti-discrimination protections for older workers. How does POWADA accomplish this? The Age Discrimination In Employment Act makes it unlawful for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire…
An employer cannot rely on a contract to discriminate
Earlier this month, an employer learned the hard way that it could not rely on a contract provision to greenlight discrimination. For several years, a school district limited the annual earnings increases of teachers over age 45 to avoid a pension-contribution surcharge. Why? Because its collective bargaining agreement with the…
An employer got sued for age bias. It admitted wanting to advance younger employees. It prevailed. HOW?!?
The U.S. Army employed a “septuagenarian civilian doctor.” Well, at least it used to. The Army ended his employment as Chief of Surgery and replaced him with a military officer half his age. So, he sued the Army for age discrimination. As part of discovery, the record confirmed that the…