EEOC sues Amer Sports for retaliation | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Federal lawsuit claims recreational equipment company fired employee after he complained about age discrimination

DENVER – Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Company, a Utah-based recreational equipment company with employees throughout the United States, violated federal law by firing an employee because he complained of age discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged. (EEOC) in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC lawsuit, an employee complained multiple times to human resources and management about age discrimination during an organizational restructuring. During the reorganization, the company created a new leadership role and hired several younger, less experienced employees to fill the positions without advertising the positions or giving older, more experienced employees the opportunity to apply.

When the employee complained that the actions constituted age discrimination, his regional manager and the company’s human resources representative warned him not to pursue his complaint up the chain, which would imply that it would put his career at risk. Yet when the employee took his complaint to the company’s global vice president, Amer Sports fired him less than six weeks later.

Such alleged conduct violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits retaliation for complaints about age discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Company, Case No. administrative conciliation process.

“More than 50% of charges received by the EEOC have an allegation of retaliation,” 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 may dissuade employees from speaking out to oppose age discrimination.”

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

For more information about age discrimination, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/age-discrimination. For more information about retaliation, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC Denver field office is one of three offices in the EEOC Phoenix district office, which has jurisdiction over Arizona, Colorado, northern New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

The EEOC prevents and corrects illegal employment discrimination and promotes equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.