MEENAN OIL TO PAY $80,000 TO SETTLE EEOC AGE DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

Sales Manager Made Age-Biased Comments and Fired Sales Representative Because of Age, Federal Agency Charged

PHILADELPHIA — A Tullytown,  Pa., distributor of home heating oil has agreed to pay $80,000 and provide  significant equitable relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit, the U.S.  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today. The EEOC charged in its lawsuit that Meenan  Oil Company unlawfully fired sales representative Louis Ceccoli of Langhorne, Pa.,  because of his age, 71.

According to the allegations in the EEOC’s lawsuit,  Meenan’s sales manager made several derogatory comments demonstrating a bias  against older workers, including stating that he would like to “remove all the  older representatives and replace them with younger employees,” repeatedly  asking Ceccoli about his retirement plans and commenting that he would retire  if he were “as old as” Ceccoli. The EEOC  said the sales manager also took sales leads and sales territory from  Ceccoli. After the discharge, Meenan Oil  replaced Ceccoli with a substantially younger employee.
 
  It  is a violation of the Age Discrimination  in Employment Act (ADEA) to treat an employee who is 40 or older less favorably than younger  individuals or to terminate him based on age.  The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 08-cv-5146, in U.S.  District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania) after first attempting  to reach a voluntary settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to the $80,000 in monetary relief for Ceccoli,  the three-year consent decree settling the suit requires Meenan to provide  anti-discrimination training to all supervisory and management personnel, to require  supervisors and managers to oversee their work areas in compliance with company  policies against discrimination and retaliation, and to post a notice about the  resolution of the lawsuit. Meenan did  not admit liability in the consent decree, which is pending judicial  approval.

“More than 40 years after the passage of the ADEA, age discrimination charges represent one of the fastest-growing  types of complaints filed with the EEOC nationally,” said District Director  Marie M. Tomasso of the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. “The EEOC will take action if older employees  are illegally forced out of a job based on age.”

Acting Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence added, “We  appreciate Meenan’s willingness to work with the EEOC to resolve this matter  and to undertake remedial measures designed to ensure that employees are not  subjected to wrongful discrimination in the future.”

During  Fiscal Year 2008, age discrimination charges surged to a record high 24,582 –  an increase of 29 percent from the prior fiscal year.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment  discrimination. Further information  about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.