U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
6-29-10
Federal Agency Charged That State and County Government Agencies Terminated Employee Because of Her Age
ATLANTA – The State of Georgia’s Department of Community Health and one of its local county districts, McIntosh County Health Department, will pay $60,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
The EEOC originally filed its lawsuit in this case on September 12, 2008 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division (Case No: 2:08-CV-120-LGW-JEG) against the McIntosh County Health Department. However, in its amended complaint, filed on February 10, 2009, the EEOC charged that both the state and county government agencies acted unlawfully when they terminated Margie Washington from her office manager position with the McIntosh County Health Department because of her age. At the time of her discharge, Washington had worked for the health department for over 25 years.
McIntosh County Health Department is a part of the Coastal Health District. Coastal Health District is an administrative district of the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Division of Public Health, which is comprised of eight county health departments in southeast Georgia. The Georgia Department of Community Health, formerly known as the Georgia Department of Human Resources, employs over 6,000 people throughout the state of Georgia.
The consent decree settling the suit, in addition to the monetary relief, includes provisions for equal employment opportunity training, reporting, and posting of anti-discrimination notices.
“There is no excuse for firing en employee simply because of her age,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Robert Dawkins. “Such a practice is counterproductive and illegal, and the EEOC will continue to combat such practices.”
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.