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September 2, 2011 Dr. Younker Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Detroit District Office 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 865 Detroit, MI 48226-9704 Dear Sir or Madam, Please accept this letter as a complaint of employment discrimination based on gender by Alice Bennett. Please also accept this letter as an appearance by Marcia Robinson of Auburn University Legal Services on behalf of Mrs. Alice Bennett. On January 5, Mrs. Bennett started working at Rikards-Hayley, an investment banking firm located at 121 Centre St. , New York, New York.
Her first job was in training and development, where she received nothing but superior evaluation from her supervisors. At precisely two years ago, she was promoted to acting manager of the department. As acting manager she received superior evaluation. Five months into the job Mrs. Bennett was notified that the company was going to fill the manager position and she applied for the position. She was told by her supervisor, Darren Blackwood, that management liked her but she did not quite fit the image they were seeking.
She needed to lose weight and change her attitude towards he male employees. She was told that she was “too assertive. ” Mrs. Bennett was not hired as manager; instead the company hired Martina Yardley. After Mrs. Yardley was hired, Mrs. Bennett claimed she was made miserable. Yardley criticized her work constantly and also made comments about her appearance. Two months ago Mrs. Bennett was fired. When male employees were terminated from Rikards-Hayley, they commonly receive severance package consisting of one year’s salary; Bennett’s severance package contained on six months’ salary.
As a result of her treatment at work, Bennett claims she suffered physically and emotionally. To date her medical bills have totaled $2500. She has also been unable to find work; she earned $150,000 before she was terminated. Age discrimination involves treating someone less favorably because of his age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states do have laws hat protect younger workers from age discrimination. It is not illegal for an employer or other covered entity to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older. The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. It is unlawful to harass a person because of his or her age. Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person’s age.
Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision. The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer. The sole purpose for not promoting Mrs. Bennett was based on appearance only which to me consist as age discrimination.
She already was knowledgeable of the position that she had been assigned for two years. Her supervisors felt that Mrs. Bennett’s image and attitude were a problem so they terminated her. The contact information for Mrs. Bennett is 2367 Meadow Ln. , New York, New York. Mrs. Bennett’s home telephone number is (215)555-1212 and cell number is (212)555-3987. We would ask, however, that all correspondence be directed to Marcia Robinson, as Mrs. Bennett’s counsel. The contact information for Rikards_Hayley is: (212)555-2323. We look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Marcia Robinson Attorney at Law