The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is alleging in a lawsuit filed this week that Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Company reportedly violated federal law when it fired an employee who complained about age discrimination.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an employee complained multiple times to human resources and management about age discrimination during an organizational restructuring. EEOC alleges that during the reorganization, the company created a new leadership role and hired several younger, less experienced employees to fill the positions without posting them or allowing older, more experienced employees to apply.

When the employee complained that the actions constituted age discrimination, the agency said his regional manager and the company’s human resources representative warned him not to pursue his complaint up the chain, implying it would jeopardize his career. When the employee nevertheless elevated his complaint to the company’s global vice president, Amer Sports terminated him less than six weeks later.

The EEOC said such alleged conduct violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), prohibiting retaliation for complaining about age discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Company, Case No. 1:24-cv-02940, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Over 50 percent of the charges the EEOC receives have a retaliation allegation,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill. “Employers are not permitted to punish employees for asserting their rights under the ADEA or to engage in any other conduct that would dissuade employees from speaking up to oppose age discrimination.”

Amy Burkholder, field director of the EEOC’s Denver Field Office, said, “Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who complain about discrimination. When employers engage in this conduct, the EEOC will not hesitate to hold them accountable.”

The case is scheduled for a Scheduling/Planning Conference on January 29, 2025, at the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse in Denver, CO.

Image courtesy Salomon