WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – M1 5100 Corp., a grocery store doing business as JUMBO in Greenacres, Fla., has agreed to pay $20,000 and provide equitable relief to settle an age discrimination suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC alleged that the 57-year old cook manager arrived to work for her regularly scheduled shift and discovered that her replacement — someone approximately 20 years younger — had already been hired to do her job. At the time of her termination, JUMBO’s general manager told her, “Look, old lady, we have to give opportunities to new people … it is time for you to rest.”

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers 40 years and older from discrimination on the basis of age. The EEOC filed its suit (Civil Action No. 9:19-CV-81320) in U.S. District Court is the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The three-year consent decree requires JUMBO to train managers and employees on anti-discrimination laws, implement a hotline number for discrimination complaints, and provide bi-annual reports to the EEOC on its investigation of employee discrimination complaints.

“Reliance on outdated notions, assumptions, and stereotypes about older persons should be avoided since it leads to unlawful discrimination on the basis of age,” said Robert E. Weisberg, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Miami District Office.

Bradley Anderson, acting district director of the EEOC’s Miami’s District Office, added, “Now more than ever our aging workforce needs advocates like the EEOC to defend against violations of the ADEA and employers’ bias that older workers are unable to do their jobs.”

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.