In Maryland, age discrimination claims are difficult, but not impossible to prove. The recent case of EEOC v. Town of Elkton is a good example of the facts necessary to take an age discrimination case to a jury. In this case, the town of Elkton, Maryland fired a 70 year old employee who worked as the Assistant Town Administrator and Finance Director. The employee, Mr. Johnson, worked for Elkton for several years very successfully. He and his department won awards and commendations, he received positive reviews, and he earned raise every year. The town argued that Mr. Johnson was fired because he did not performing satisfactorily (claiming that he was standing around too much, that he was not a CPA, and that his desk was too clean). The Maryland federal court rejected the employer's claim and found the objective historical facts about Mr. Johnson's excellent employment was sufficient for the issue of his performance to go before a jury. It noted that a CPA license was not a requirement of the job. The Maryland federal court also noted the numerous age biased comments about Mr. Johnson "retiring soon", not being a "young" person and other discriminatory comments warranted the case going to trial. Kudos to the EEOC and Mr. Johnson for pursuing this case, and showing that age discrimination claims, while difficult, are not impossible to prove.
