Articles Posted in Age

The company that likes defending age-discrimination claims, that’s who.

More after the jump…

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What could go wrong when the boss’s son asks that question of, David, a nearly-40-year employee? Oh, right, David got laid off a week later.

Age discrimination? Well, let’s see…

We know that when an employer inquires about an employee’s retirement plans — without bringing up age — it should be able to avoid liability. But, repeated inquiries about a plaintiff’s intention to retire could suggest an age-related impetus for his eventual firing.

From the blog that brought you the classy September 2011 post, “This old mother****** may just have an age discrimination claim,” comes a story of a woman whom her former employer **cough** affectionately **cough** referred to as “Old Rose.”

On other occasions, the plaintiff Rosemary Marsh was told, “you’re slipping, you’re getting old.” Another time, she was asked if she was “too old to get down there” when she bent down to replace paper in the photocopier. And when the company eventually fired Ms. Marsh — you had to figure that was coming, right? — she was allegedly told, “I think you’re just getting a little too old for your job.”

Sounds like the makings of a good age discrimination claim. Well, not in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. No ma’am:

Sorry for the late post gang. Rough night last night.

Today, I’m punting the ball over to my blogging buddy Phil Miles at Lawffice Space who has the scoop on a new age-discrimination matter that the Supreme Court has agreed to address. You can read Phil’s post here.

Hey Employers!

Want to guarantee yourself a jury trial in an age-discrimination case? Just mention the word “younger” to any employee age forty or above right around the time you fire him.

[Editor’s Note: Calling that employee an “old man,” “old fart,” “pops,” and “grandpa” will also do the trick — except, of course, in Texas]

I was reading this Third Circuit decision yesterday about an employee who got demoted for sleeping on the job, and all I could think of was Homer Simpson. For not unlike Homer J., a nuclear safety technician, this employee was responsible for monitoring his plant’s equipment to prevent malfunctions that could result in explosions, property damage, injuries, and fatalities. Except, unlike Homer, the former employee was allegedly found sleeping on the floor of his office, with a pillow, blankets, and an alarm clock nearby. Now that’s what I call an all-out Costanza! All that’s missing here are the empty calories and male curiosity, eh Georgie?

Instead, we are left with a baseless age-discrimination lawsuit from a employee, claiming that when he was demoted, it wasn’t for sleeping on the job. Rather, it was because of his age and an unwritten policy “to get rid of older employees,” premised upon a single stray remark and slipshod investigation into the sleeping incident.

Smell that? Yeah, me too… (And it’s not what The Rock is cookin’)

To prove age discrimination, an employee must demonstrate, at a minimum, that the employment action taken occurred under circumstances that give rise to an inference of discrimination. One stray remark and a poor investigation — even if true — do not indicate that age was the motivating reason behind an employment decision, which is the burden that a plaintiff must meet to prove age discrimination.

What’s the lesson to be learned here? If you are going to sleep at work, don’t get caught, of course. Or maybe do your sleeping at home…in a bed.

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It is unlawful under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act “to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s age.” An employee who alleges that she was fired in violation of the ADEA has a tough time prevailing because she must demonstrate not that “age was a reason” behind the termination decision, but rather that “age was the reason.”

In a recent decision, a Mississippi federal court allowed a plaintiff, a former beauty supply company employee who suffered from hearing loss, to take her age discrimination claims to trial because she had presented evidence that that her manager made remarks such as, “Yeah, that’s what happens when you get old.” 

[I was going to break in here in Alright Hear This, but two f-bomb’s and a sh*t preclude that. Instead, we’ll try this one.]