EEOC Lawyers Settle Age Bias Case

In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-24-10.cfm , lawyers with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that Kmart Corporation will pay $120,000 and furnish other relief to settle an age harassment, constructive discharge and retaliation lawsuit filed by the federal agency.  According to the March 24, 2010 press release, EEOC lawyers had charged in the case that the company discriminated against a 70-year-old pharmacist at a Honolulu store when, over the course of four years, a pharmacy manager openly professed on several occasions that the pharmacist was “too old,” and was “greedy” for continuing to work at age 70.  In addition, the EEOC alleged that the manager continued to humiliate the pharmacist in writing by stating, “The pharmacy is no longer your forte” and “You need to retire from pharmacy work now,” in a communication book open to the entire department.  EEOC lawyers further alleged that the victim complained to a district manager, general manager and human resources manager concerning the age based harassment, to no avail, and the company threatened legal action against the victim using a pretext on an unrelated matter to retaliate against her for her discrimination complaint.  Finally, the EEOC said, she had to quit to escape the mistreatment. 

Such alleged mistreatment and the company’s failure to adequately address it violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including age related harassment and retaliation for complaining about it.  Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .