Texas Age Discrimination Lawsuit

Concluding an age discrimination lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Texas, lawyers with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in a December 15, 2009 Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/12-15-09a.cfm that the City of North Richland Hills will pay $75,000 to a former worker and take remedial action to resolve a case in which EEOC lawyers charged that the City subjected a former technician to age based harassment which resulted in his forced termination or constructive discharge.  According to the EEOC Press Release, EEOC lawyers alleged in the lawsuit that the former employee was ridiculed with age related taunts that he was too old to keep up, made too much money and was too old to do his job.  The EEOC also alleged that after suffering the abusive behavior for several months, the former employee reported the harassment to his supervisor and to the City’s human resources department, but the City failed to take any corrective action and the harassment increased to the point the worker was forced to resign.  A trial lawyer with the EEOC’s Dallas office commented in the Press Release that age related harassment is against the law and should not be tolerated by employers. 

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (”ADEA”) prohibits employment discrimination based on age against employees and applicants 40 years of age or older.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including harassment related to age, and the EEOC filed the age harassment lawsuit in Texas after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court.  Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

Whether workplace related age harassment occurs in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of age discrimination may contact the EEOC or a lawyer to determine if an employment discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate in Texas or elsewhere under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential harassment claim.