A former Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) employee is suing the company claiming he was let go because of his age, according to court documents filed last month.
The complainant, Eric Babcock, filed the suit with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Hologic and Brandy Ratliff, according to court documents.
The suit, filed October 6, claims that the company and Ratliff violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. The complaint claims that Babcock was hired on in 2006, operating as a territory manager in southeast Louisiana.
The plaintiff claims that in 2011, Ratliff “made discriminatory comments with direct references to Plaintiff’s age, and singled him out for mistreatment,” according to court documents. Babcock filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in response.
Babcock claims that during 2015, he received “disparate treatment” on the basis of his age, being placed on performance improvement plans despite receiving awards for sales performance during the same period. The plaintiff claims that younger employees in similar roles were not subject to similar adverse employment actions.
The plaintiff filed an internal complaint of age discrimination in March 2016, according to court documents, but was let go on April 5 with “little or no investigation” into the discrimination filing.
“Hologic has given conflicting explanations to Plaintiff as to the reasons for his termination. Hologic threatened to terminate Plaintiff for alleged performance-related reasons during and following the PIPs. However, at the time of his termination, Hologic advised that Plaintiff’s position was being eliminated and that his territory would be absorbed by other Territory Managers,” the plaintiff’s legal counsel wrote in court documents.
Babcock is requesting a trial by jury, seeking re compensation for “all sums as are reasonable under the premises, including back pay, compensatory damages, liquidated damages, reinstatement, front pay, attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses.”