78-year-old employee of the year is fired over her age, stay in hospital, lawsuit says

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An employee at Georgia retirement community was fired over her age and a hospital stay, a federal discrimination lawsuit says.

A 78-year-old receptionist at a Georgia retirement community was suddenly fired the month after she was named one of the employees of the year, according to a new federal discrimination lawsuit.

The longtime employee of Covenant Woods in Columbus was recognized as a 2021 employee of the year in January 2022 — before she was fired over her age and a two-day hospital stay in February 2022, the lawsuit says.

After the woman was hospitalized on Feb. 10, 2022, following high blood pressure at work, she noticed a new employee, who was about 30 years younger, sitting at her desk when she returned to the office, according to a complaint.

In a meeting that day, a general manager questioned the woman about how long she planned to work for the company, the complaint says.

“Where do you see yourself? Do you need to keep working? Don’t you want to travel? See your brother?” are questions the manager is accused of asking her, according to the complaint.

Although the woman said she wanted to work for two or three more years, the company fired her two days later as a “‘business decision’ based on a loss of confidence in (her) abilities,” the complaint says.

Her hospitalization was cited as a “safety concern” that led to “the difficult change” at Covenant Woods, which is run by Covenant Woods Senior Living LLC, and BrightSpace Senior Living LLC, the complaint says.

Now the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Covenant Woods and BrightSpace Senior Living, accusing the companies of age and disability discrimination, the agency announced in a Feb. 14 news release.

“We at Brightspace and Covenant Woods disagree that we have in any way engaged in unlawful discrimination,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Hendricks, of BrightSpace Senior Living, told McClatchy News in a statement on Feb. 20.

“We remain committed to our residents and associates,” Hendricks added.

According to the EEOC, the woman worked at Covenant Woods for more than 14 years and was replaced with “significantly younger employees” following her termination.

The retirement community went against its own policies by immediately firing her, as she never received a verbal warning, written warnings or was suspended beforehand, the complaint says.

Before she was fired, the general manager offered that the woman could work once every Sunday as an unpaid volunteer, according to the complaint, or that she could be transferred to an unspecified role.

Covenant Woods and BrightSpace Senior Living are accused of violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the EEOC.

“The ADEA prohibits employers from firing someone who is at least 40 years old because of their age,” Marcus G. Keegan, a regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office, said in a statement. “Additionally, the ADA prohibits employers from terminating an employee because of an actual or perceived disability.”

“Covenant Woods violated both statutes when it terminated a high-performing and long-tenured employee on the unfounded assumption that her age and medical condition would prevent her from doing her job,” Keegan added.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Ledger-Enquirer.