Allen Theatres Inc. will pay $250,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that accused the movie theatre chain of age discrimination, including forcing an employee to retire and denying health benefits to workers over 65.
The settlement, announced Thursday, resolves claims that the company’s president forced Abby Parrish, a theatre manager in Clovis, N.M., to retire in 2020 because he was 73. The company did not allow Parrish to return to work when theatres reopened in March 2021 following COVID-19 closures, the EEOC said.
The agency also alleged Allen Theatres maintained a companywide policy that eliminated employer-sponsored health insurance coverage for employees aged 65 and older, including Charles Green, director of IT at the company’s Las Cruces location.
EEOC: policy violated federal age discrimination law
The EEOC said these actions violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which protects workers aged 40 and older from discrimination in hiring, firing, and compensation based on age. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Mexico, covered both individual and class claims.
Under the terms of a two-year consent decree, Allen Theatres must reinstate health coverage eligibility under its benefit plan for current employees aged 65 and older who are not enrolled. It must also revise its internal policies to prohibit age discrimination and implement new training and investigative procedures. The company is required to report to the EEOC on training, complaints, and policy updates.
Employees speak out about experience
Parrish, who had worked for the company for 31 years, said he felt vindicated by the result.
“I just knew it wasn’t right, and even told the president when he told me I was being mandatorily retired back in 2020,” Parrish said in a written statement released by the EEOC. “I feel blessed, and want to thank Mary Jo and the people I worked with at the EEOC in Albuquerque for getting a result like this.”
Green also expressed appreciation for the agency’s efforts, saying the outcome “means a great deal” to him.
EEOC calls for employer awareness
Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office, said the case should serve as a warning to employers not to make assumptions about older workers’ capabilities or preferences.
“It violates federal anti-discrimination law for managers or any corporate officers to force workers over the age of 40 to involuntarily retire because of their age,” O’Neill said. “Employers should not impose their ideas about when older employees should quit working, especially for those employees who want to work, are qualified to work, and are doing a good job.”
Melinda Caraballo, district director of the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office, added that training is key to preventing similar violations.
“Employers must train their staff to recognize discriminatory treatment of employees and protect employees by providing equal employee benefits regardless of their age,” Caraballo said.
