Two Houston-area adult-oriented businesses have settled an
age discrimination case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. According to the EEOC’s
suit, AHD Houston, Inc. and W.L. York, Inc., doing business as Cover
Girls, violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) by
harassing and ultimately firing a waitress because of her age.
In its lawsuit (Civil Action No. 4:09-cv-01371), the EEOC charged
that in August 2005, two male managers at Cover Girls, both in their
30s, began harassing and discriminating against Mary Bassi, who was in
her 50s, because of her age. On multiple occasions, these managers
referred to Bassi as “old” and made other negative comments about her
age, including telling her she was exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s
disease. Cover Girls’ management also began hiring younger female
waitresses and scheduling them for shifts in place of Bassi, despite the
fact that she was performing her duties well and had received no recent
disciplinary actions.
Finally, without provocation or explanation, Cover Girls fired Bassi
in August 2006 when she was 56 years old, the EEOC said. When she was
fired, Bassi had worked at various establishments owned by or related to
the defendants over the preceding 13 years.
“Age discrimination cannot and will not be tolerated in any business
or industry in Houston,” said EEOC Regional Attorney James Sacher. “No
matter what sector they occupy, business establishments are not exempt
from the federal laws which protect employees from discrimination and
adverse employment actions based on age.”
The two defendants operate sexually oriented business establishments
in the Houston area, which include Centerfolds and Cover Girls. Cover
Girls closed its doors as a result of a fire shortly following Bassi’s
termination, but is now set to reopen in early 2011.
Age discrimination violates the ADEA, which is one of the statutes
the EEOC is charged with enforcing. The EEOC filed the lawsuit in U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division,
only after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement.
The settlement terms, set forth in a consent decree signed and
entered by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt, require the two
defendants to pay $60,000 to compensate Bassi for the age discrimination
and wrongful discharge. The decree also contains provisions to ensure
that the defendants’ managers and employees are properly trained to
fully understand and comply with federal employment discrimination
laws. In addition, the companies are required to maintain policies and
procedures for addressing illegal discrimination in the workplace,
including complaint procedures and guidelines for investigating
complaints of discrimination, which must be approved by the EEOC.