J&M Industries, Inc., a manufacturing and distribution company based in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, has agreed to pay a former employee $105,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, J&M Industries violated federal law when it fired an employee because of her age after she refused to retire when she turned 65 years old. A company manager asked the employee repeatedly about retirement as she approached her 65th birthday. After telling the company she had no plans to retire, the company informed the employee her position of purchasing agent was being eliminated due to economic uncertainty.
Less than a month after firing the employee, the company hired a man in his thirties as a new purchasing agent, the same position the company claimed to have eliminated.
Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits discrimination against individuals 40 or older because of age. The EEOC filed its suit (EEOC v. J&M Industries, Inc., Civil Action No. 2:23-cv-01100) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Under the three-year consent decree settling the suit, J&M Industries will pay the former employee $105,000 in back pay and liquidated damages; conduct training; revise policies; provide regular reports to the EEOC; and post a notice affirming its obligations under the ADEA.
Source: EEOC
Topics Lawsuits Louisiana Manufacturing