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May 21, 2024
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently reported a $50,000 settlement with an Ohio amusement park to resolve an age discrimination lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, the park provided housing at significantly below-market rates for out-of-town seasonal employees. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons (approximately May through October), the park implemented a policy prohibiting employees (other than entertainers) aged 30 or older from living in employee housing. The policy also denied them related transportation benefits. The EEOC alleged that, as a result of the policy, older out-of-town workers could not resume their seasonal employment at the park because of the economic barriers that the policy created. The EEOC sued under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), alleging that the policy deprived a class of individuals aged 40 and older (the ADEA protects workers 40 and older) of equal terms, conditions, and privileges of employment based on their age.
In addition to the $50,000 monetary settlement, the five-year consent decree that resolved the lawsuit provides for non-monetary relief intended to prevent further age discrimination. Specifically, the park and its staffing agency will use a housing policy that does not discriminate against employees age 40 and older, they will implement a revised ADEA policy, and they will provide training on the ADEA for management personnel responsible for employment decisions and policies.
The case was EEOC v. Cedar Fair L.P., et al., No. 3:23-cv-01843 (N.D. Ohio).
Employers: Though some exceptions[1] to the ADEA exist, none of them applied in this case. Take care when implementing policies that take age into account. The burdens of proving that such policies do not violate the ADEA are high and the costs associated with ADEA non-compliance are even higher.
*Special thanks to Nella Venella, our Paralegal, for her contributions to this article.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
[1] For example, (1) the ADEA does not apply to employers with fewer than 20 employees; (2) age may be taken into account if a bona fide reason exists (e.g., safety) to require that a job be performed by a worker of a certain age (e.g., an airline pilot or a firefighter); (3) employers may adopt a seniority system (i.e., length of service with the employer) for determining benefits and wages; (4) an employee’s experience, education, or skills may justify different treatment (aka “reasonable factors other than age”); and (5) employers may ask executives and senior management personnel to retire at age 65 if they provide a pension of at least $44,000 annually after retirement.
