Independent Medical Group, LLC (IMG), a healthcare provider operating several clinics in Florida, agreed to conciliate an age discrimination charge investigated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC found reasonable cause that IMG violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act by terminating an employee based on age in July 2023.

Under the conciliation agreement, IMG will pay the employee $64,000 in damages, representing full back pay and liquidated damages. The company also agreed to provide annual age discrimination training for employees, human resources, and management, revise policies to explicitly prohibit age discrimination and provide examples, and report future age discrimination complaints to the EEOC for five years.

Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/img-medical-group-pay-64000-resolve-eeoc-age-discrimination-charge

Commentary

In the above source, a healthcare provider suffered a loss after an EEOC finding of reasonable cause that it terminated a worker because of age.

For healthcare organizations, the matter underscores that decisions affecting employees age 40 and older are often highly scrutinized under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. This is especially true when planning workforce levels that impact older workers, like reductions-in-force.

Healthcare organizations should:

· Ensure hiring, promotion, discipline, and termination decisions are based on documented performance or business criteria, not age-related assumptions.

· Review reduction-in-force or restructuring plans for disproportionate impact on employees age 40 and older.

· Provide regular ADEA-focused training for managers, HR, and supervisors, including examples of age-biased comments and decision-making.

· Update written policies to explicitly prohibit age discrimination, with complaint procedures and anti-retaliation language.

· Track and analyze internal age discrimination complaints and outcomes, and respond promptly with investigations and corrective measures.

The final takeaway is that accurate documentation, manager training, comprehensive anti-discrimination policies and evaluation with counsel for reductions-in-force are essential for helping reduce age-bias risk in employment decisions.