The fitness company Equinox has settled an age bias claim with a former employee in late October 2022. The plaintiff, a 51-year-old former front desk employee, accused Equinox of firing him because of his age.
Case background
Gregory Teachey filed his claim in November 2018, accusing coworkers of making comments about his age when he worked for the company. He claimed that the other front desk employees, in their 20s and 30s, made comments about his age when he worked at the gym. He also claimed that multiple supervisors said he was too old to work at the front desk, and/or expressed surprise about his age.
In January 2018, he was written up for failing to wear his uniform. He declined to sign the disciplinary writeup, and had never been disciplined previously. A few days later, a gym member and guest entered without being checked in, despite Teachey claiming that he was not at the front desk at the time. He was fired shortly thereafter.
Although Equinox requested summary judgement, a federal judge ruled that a reasonable jury could find that the gym used these minor infractions as a cover for age discrimination. The judge also said that the evidence suggested that Equinox didn’t know how old Teachey was until after he was hired, and the pattern of remarks were “more than stray remarks.”
There are no details about the terms of the settlement agreement. The parties filed a joint dismissal stipulation in December to end the claims and settle the case.
Age discrimination violates federal employment law. If your employer has unfairly discriminated against you based on age, a trusted whistleblower attorney at Kardell Law Group can help. Call today to learn more.
