Capital City Dental Care, a dental practice headquartered in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania suburb of Camp Hill, will pay $100,000 and furnish significant equitable relief to settle a federal age discrimination lawsuit, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced. EEOC charged that after a new owner purchased the dental practice, it fired eight out of nine dental hygienists older than 40, based on their ages. Capital City Dental Care later replaced the older hygienists with 14 employees, 13 of whom were under age 40. Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which prohibits discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. The EEOC’s investigation began when five of the terminated dental hygienists filed charges with the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. In addition to providing lost wages and other monetary relief, the four-year consent decree resolving the suit enjoins Capital City Dental Care from engaging in age discrimination and retaliation. The dental practice will implement an updated policy against discrimination, with an emphasis on preventing age discrimination, and a complaint procedure. The company will provide training on the ADEA, post a notice of employee rights under the ADEA, and report to the EEOC on its compliance with the consent decree.
