Red Rock Western Jeep Tours, Inc. has been ordered by a
consent decree to pay $35,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit
filed by the EEOC.
The settlement ends a lawsuit filed by the EEOC against Red Rock in
September 2009 in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
(Case No. 3:09-CV-8147- DKD). In the lawsuit, the EEOC charged that
Red Rock, which operates jeep tours in Sedona, Ariz., fired Gloria
Rose, a reservationist, because of her age.
According to the EEOC, Rose was hired and told to return a “new
hire” packet, which contained various forms such as tax and direct
deposit forms. When Rose returned the forms the next day, a supervisor
met with her and, among other things, asked Rose for her age. Rose
responded that she was 75 years old. After that meeting, Rose did not
hear from Red Rock for several days. Rose sent an e-mail to Red Rock
inquiring as to when her start date would be. Red Rock responded that
the general manager and supervisor did not think Rose was “the right
person” for the job. Rose responded with an e-mail inquiring as to how
they could make that determination without actually seeing her work
product. Rose informed Red Rock that she believed she had been
discriminated against on the basis of her age.
After receiving this e-mail, Red Rock then decided to hire her,
only to terminate her after only two days of work, the EEOC said. Rose
was not even trained for the full two days as she was sent on several
jeep tours lasting several hours. The EEOC further alleged that Red
Rock replaced Rose by substantially younger employees.
As part of the decree settling the suit, Red Rock is mandated to
adopt an anti-discrimination policy and to provide anti-discrimination
training for all of its employees involved in the hiring process. Red
Rock is also enjoined from engaging in any further age discrimination
or retaliation.
“Companies cannot terminate or refuse to hire qualified older
workers because of their age; it is illegal and violates federal law,”
said EEOC Phoenix Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill. “Some employers
seem to be tempted to hire younger workers for jobs which entail
interacting with the public on behalf of the company. However, a
company which fails to hire or terminates qualified workers because of
their age does so at its peril because such actions may be unlawful.”
EEOC Acting Phoenix District Director Julie Bowman said, “Because
of the EEOC’s nationwide jurisdiction, the EEOC will attempt to
eradicate discrimination wherever it is found. In small or large towns
across the United States, we encourage all workers who believe they
have been discriminated against on the basis of their age to come
forward and present their claims of discrimination to the EEOC.”
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids
discrimination against applicants and employees who are 40 years old
or older. Employers, therefore, must not harass, fail to hire, fail
to promote, layoff, terminate, or otherwise discriminate against
persons who are 40 years old or older because of age.