Age Discrimination Lawsuit Alleging Older Workers Fired Because Of Age Resolved By EEOC
On October 23, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a press release announcing that it has entered into a Consent Decree settling an age discrimination lawsuit against Liberty Support Services, Inc. (Liberty Support). On June 25, 2019, the EEOC filed the lawsuit, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Liberty Support Services, Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-00204, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Before commencing the age discrimination lawsuit in federal court, the EEOC initially endeavored to obtain a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process. Unable to reach an acceptable settlement agreement through conciliation efforts, the EEOC exercised its right under federal law to remedy the alleged discriminatory employment practices through federal court litigation.
In the Consent Decree, which was endorsed by U.S. District Court Judge Martin Reidinger on October 23, 2020, Liberty Support agreed to pay $39,139 to settle the age discrimination lawsuit. In this article, our Ocala, Florida lawyers for age discrimination victims explain the EEOC’s allegations of discriminatory employment practices against Liberty Support.
Legal Rights Of Older Workers
The EEOC brought the age discrimination lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) on behalf of four former employees of Liberty Support, Thomas Green (Green), Diane Derreberry (Derreberry), Sandra Lynn Adams (Adams), and Charlie Cable (Cable). The ADEA makes age discrimination an unlawful discriminatory employment practice. The ADEA’s protection against age discrimination extends to all employees and applicants for employment. The ADEA forbids age discrimination in all aspects of employment, including hiring, training, compensation, promotion, job assignments, layoff, and discharge. In order to be protected against age discrimination by the ADA, an individual must be at least forty years of age.
Workers Claim Fired Because Of Age
Liberty Support is a North Carolina corporation based in Raleigh that maintains state-owned rest areas through contracts with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. In 2013, Green, Derreberry, Adams, and Cable all began working for Liberty Support as rest area attendants at a rest area in Cherokee County, North Carolina. In December 2016, the North Carolina Department of Transportation closed the Cherokee County rest area for renovations. As a result of the closing, the four employees were all laid off by Liberty Support and expected to return to work when the rest area reopened. At the time the rest area closed for renovations, none of the employees were told that they were discharged from their employment with Liberty Support.
In May 2017, however, Green, Derreberry, Adams, and Cable learned that they had been terminated by Liberty Support effective December 2016. At the time of their discharge, Green was fifty-seven, Derreberry was fifty-six, Adams was fifty-seven, and Cable was forty-seven. In May 2017, when the Cherokee County rest area reopened, Liberty Support hired substantially younger individuals for the rest area attendant positions previously held by Green, Derreberry, Adams, and Cable. The EEOC claims that Liberty Support violated the ADA by targeting the four employees for termination because of their age and then failing to rehire them for their rest room attendant positions because of their age.
Lawyers For Age Discrimination Victims
The EEOC is the administrative agency of the United States charged with interpreting and enforcing federal employment and labor laws making age discrimination an unlawful discriminatory employment practice. In fulfilling its mandate under federal law to eradicate discriminatory employment practices from the American workplace, the EEOC brings lawsuits on behalf of employees against employers who have violated the federal anti-discrimination laws. In a press release issued by the EEOC on October 23, 2020 regarding the case, an acting regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, Kara Haden, explained that “the EEOC will continue to challenge age bias and robustly enforce the ADEA.” “Employment decisions,” Ms. Haden added, “must be based on ability and not age.”
Age Discrimination Lawyers In Ocala, FL
Based in Ocala, Florida and representing employees throughout Central Florida, our Marion County, Florida attorneys for age discrimination victims have litigated age discrimination cases in Florida courts for more than twenty years. If you have been discriminated against on the basis of age or have questions about your rights as an age discrimination victim under the federal anti-discrimination laws, please contact our office for a free consultation with our Ocala, Florida lawyers for age discrimination victims. Our employee rights law firm takes age discrimination cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.