EEOC Sues Employer Over Mandatory Retirement Policy

The agency says a receptionist was fired four days after her 65th birthday due to a company policy that mandated retirement at age 65.

Professional Endodontics, P.C., a dental surgery practice based in Southfield, Mich., with three locations, violated federal law by firing an employee because of her age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.

According to the EEOC, Karen Ruerat had been employed as a receptionist for Professional Endodontics for more than 37 years when she was fired four days after her 65th birthday due to a company policy that mandated retirement at age 65. Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age.

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The EEOC filed suit (Case No. 2:17-cv-13466 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking injunctive relief prohibiting Professional Endodontics from discriminating against other employees based on age, monetary relief including back pay and liquidated damages, and other affirmative relief for Ruerat.

“Terminating an employee because he or she turns 65 is illegal,” says Miles Uhlar, trial attorney for the EEOC’s Detroit Field Office.

A Little Friday File Fun

And now it's time for FRIDAY FILES!

In Montreal, Canada, a man driving his car was singing along to the 1990s dance hit “Gonna Make You Sweat.” Then, he got pulled over by police. Huffington Post Canada reports officers came up to look into the man’s car and asked him what he was doing. After he replied, “Nothing,” one officer asked him, “Did you scream loudly?” the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported. He told the officers, “No, I was just listening to my favorite song.” After police checked the man’s license and registration, they came back with a traffic ticket fining him $149 Canadian dollars (or $117) for screaming in his car.

 

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In Venice, Italy, a 25-year-old runner unexpectedly won a marathon. Turns out, he won the Huawei Venice Marathon after a motorcycle leading the six runners ahead of him took a wrong turn, The Guardian reported. Video shows the leaders running for several hundred meters in the wrong direction before they realize the error and have to turn back. The incident occurred about 16 miles into the 26.2-mile race.

 

In Henrietta, New York, a garbage truck rolled away from a gas station, traveled across the street and crashed into a retail store. WHAM-TV reports that gas station workers say the truck driver parked there to use the bathroom and the truck had rolled away by the time he returned. The irony: the store’s name is “A Beautiful Mess.”

 

In Salt Lake City, Utah, police were looking for a man wanted in a string of burglaries, spotted him and followed his car to a church. The man got out and ran into the church. A SWAT team was called and held a standoff, waiting for the suspect. According to the Associated Press, more than six hours later, police received a call from the man asking to be rescued because he accidentally locked himself into the church’s boiler room.

 

In Anchorage, Alaska, the airport sees different hazards than others across the country. Recently, workers cleaning up a runway found a 450-pound seal lounging on it. The seal was removed by sled by North Slope Animal Control. The workers have seen birds, caribou, polar bears and musk ox on the runway, but the seal sighting was a first, the communications director for the state Department of Transportation told the Associated Press.
Weather reporter can’t stop giggling through her report after a caption says she’s an “ex-offender.” Then another caption toward the end says she is a “Throughcare Support Officer.”

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How can you stay mad when your shoes are squeaky?

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Here’s a funny Halloween costume for a dog.

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