EEOC Says School Illegally Fired Formerly Retired Worker

Renaissance School, Inc., of Racine, Wisconsin, an owner and operator of government-funded private schools, violated federal law by firing an employee because it considered him too old for his job and because he is male, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.

According to Julianne Bowman, acting director of the EEOC’s Chicago District, the agency found that, after hiring Boro Bosovich as a principal/supervisor, Renaissance School learned he had retired from a prior job. The school’s owners then began questioning his fitness for the job and making comments related to his age. They fired him a few days after hiring him.

In addition, during the few days Renaissance School employed Bosovich, at least one of its owners made gender-discriminatory comments, implying that females were more desirable as employees because they were more passive.

The EEOC charges that Renaissance School’s alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against employees and job applicants 40 and older based on age, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against employees and job applicants based on gender. The lawsuit, captioned EEOC v. Renaissance School, Inc., (Civil Action No. 2:15-cv-00411-JPS), was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

“Employers must recognize that employees can contribute to our economy at any age and that they must treat men and women equally,” says EEOC Chicago Regional Attorney John C. Hendrickson.