Don’t tell ‘Grandma’ she’s being demoted
September 24, 2008 by Fred HosierPosted in: Here comes the judge, Special Report
To her manager, Jolyn McDonald was known as Grandma: Was it just a nickname or age discrimination? 54-year-old McDonald worked 17 years at a Best Buy store in Illinois, eventually rising to the position of customer service manager. She’d received years of positive performance reviews.
After Best Buy adopted a new business model, McDonald’s store manager gave her a written warning for failing to adapt to the new standards.
McDonald was put on a performance improvement plan and was told that the company had higher expectations of her compared with others in her position because of her number of years with the company.
When a new store manager took over, he started calling her “Grandma” in front of other employees.
Not long after that, McDonald was told she was being demoted because of poor performance by her staff.
She quit and filed an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) lawsuit. Employees must prove either direct age discrimination or “circumstantial evidence” that suggests discrimination. McDonald argued the nickname made the case for circumstantial evidence.
Best Buy argued “Grandma” wasn’t an age-related nickname because people under 40 could be grandparents, too. It used that argument to try to get the case thrown out of court.
‘Grandma’ wins her argument
The court ruled in McDonald’s favor, saying a reasonable jury could conclude that age discrimination was a reason for her demotion. In the court’s words, she was “unquestionably labeled with the moniker because of her age or personal characteristics properly associated with persons of an older generation.” Being held to a higher standard than employees under 40 with fewer years experience was also a factor in the court’s decision to deny the company summary judgment.
The next step for this case is a jury trial. However, companies often decide to settle out of court rather than spend the time, resources and expense on a jury trial. A loss could mean an expensive jury award.
Have you ever had a problem at your company because of employees’ nicknames? Has ageism been an issue? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
Tags: age, discrimination, Grandma
September 26th, 2008 at 10:22 am
I honestly don’t know if there is age discrimination, but I can’t get a job interview even though I have a wealth of experience — and I’m younger than John McCain.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Prayerful She will get a BIG FAT SETTLEMENT.
I am the eldest person @ my workplace and I am treated as an equal with a great deal of respect, not because of my age but because I am considered another employee with something to contribute. Makes for a great team.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Had a lawsuit once where a Hispanic employee was claiming discrimination because people in his work group called him by the nickname “Tree Trimmer.” I still don’t know if there is some kind of derogatory ethnic / racial connotation associated with that particular term…have never heard it used as such before or since. But the reason they called him that was because he and a relative had a tree trimming business on the side. Needless to say, we were awarded summary judgment, but we still spent a fair amount in attorney fees. I do discourage the use of nicknames in the work environment, but it’s prevalent, especially in production areas. If I hear one that sounds disrespectful, I step in.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Yes, in a prior employment, as a Director of HR, I took place in an EEO mediation meeting with the loveliest team member you would ever meet. She too, was called grandma and had a very much self-deprecating humor about how old she was. People around her, played right along. After she quit employment, she took us to EEOC saying that she had quit because she could no longer tolerate all the harassment about her age. We met with her at the EEOC mediation meeting and agreed on flowers and an apology note. I’ve always thought about this case and conclude she must have felt lonely and not too appreciated after retiring and that she might have brought herself to feel this way, just so that she could garner some attention. The lesson learned for all parties involved was - there are just matters than we should not joke about at work, period. Thanks all.