College Pays $125,000 to 64-Year-Old Applicant
NEW YORK - Marymount Manhattan College has settled a lawsuit filed by EEOC alleging that it refused to hire a choreography instructor for a tenure-track assistant professorship because of her age. Marymount is a private liberal arts college located in New York City.
According to the EEOC's suit, Marymount passed over a 64-year-old applicant for an assistant professorship in dance composition who had been working at Marymount, and instead hired a 38-year-old applicant. The suit charged that this violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age discrimination against employees and job applicants who are age 40 or older.
By the terms of the consent decree settling the suit, Marymount agreed to pay $125,000 to Patricia Catterson. Further, it agrees to comply with the requirements of the ADEA. The decree also requires monitoring and training on anti-discrimination law. The decree will last for four years.
"We commend Marymount for working cooperatively with us to resolve this matter," said EEOC New York Trial Attorney Louis Graziano. "We are confident that we have put mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with the law in the future."
New York District Director EEOC Kevin Berry said, "Under the law, age has no place in making hiring decisions - and tenure-track positions in academia are no exception.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.
