Federal Age Discrimination Claim Dismissed; “Retirement”, “Hag” Comments Held Insufficient

In Echavarria v. ABM Industry Group LLC et al, 2021 WL 794944 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 26, 2021), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s claim of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

From the decision:

The amended complaint also fails to state a claim under the ADEA. Plaintiff’s only allegations suggesting that her age had anything to do with her termination are her statements that she “had been receiving pressure to retire” and that Haxhas had been replacing older employees with people of his own ethnicity, along with an allegation that a co-worker called Plaintiff “a sour old hag.” (ECF No. 5, at 17.) But Plaintiff’s vague allegations and a single comment from a non-supervisory co-worker are insufficient to meet the ADEA’s requirement that age was the “but for” cause of the employer’s adverse action. See Vega, 801 F.3d at 86; Ninying v. New York City Fire Dep’t, 807 F. App’x 112, 114 (2d Cir. 2020) (summary order). The amended complaint therefore fails to state a claim under the ADEA.

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