EEOC Sues Hospital for Age, Disability Discrimination

According to EEOC’s suit, Weirton Medical Center, a community hospital in Weirton, West Virginia, refused to select a long-time employee for a vacant maintenance department position because of his age and perceived disability.

Paul Ayers, a linen technician employee of Weirton Medical Center, applied for an available multi-craftsman assistant position. Ayers, who was 48 years old at the time, had a back impairment at the time he applied for the job. The EEOC charged that Weirton’s maintenance director, who interviewed Ayers, has made various oral and written statements indicating that Ayers was not hired for the job because of both his age and being regarded as disabled.

“Rejecting a long-time employee for a vacant position, for which he is well qualified, simply because of his age and perceived disability is not just bad for employee morale, it’s a clear violation of  federal law,” said EEOC District Director Spencer H. Lewis, Jr.

The EEOC filed suit, EEOC v. Weirton Medical Center (Civil Action No. 5:13-cv-00097), in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia after first attempting to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement.