The Laurels of Athens, a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Athens, Ohio, owned and operated by Laurel Heath Care Company, Athens LTC, Inc., Ciena Healthcare Management, Inc., and Ciena Group, LLC, will pay $150,000 and provide other relief to settle an age and sex discrimination case filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced. According to the lawsuit, a physical therapy assistant was fired in 2020 after he tried to return from approved medical leave. At the time, the employee was 59 years old and a few months away from his 60th birthday. The Laurels of Athens fired him and claimed there was no work available even though it offered work to other younger, female physical therapy assistants. The company also refused to rehire the employee after he filed a charge of discrimination. Such alleged conduct violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age discrimination, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination.
