Reference no: EM133138968
Betty has been working as a caregiver at Crown Facility since 2010. She is sixty-nine (69) years old.
Crown Facility employs over 100 caretakers in the state of California.
On December 12, 2018, Betty failed her annual physical fitness test due to her deteriorating hearing. At that time, Crown Facility told her she would not be able to work anymore. However, the next day, Betty called Crown and told them that she recently got hearing aids and would like to retake her physical exam. She did, and passed. Crown Facility allowed her to continue working.
During that same physical test, the testing doctor noted in Betty's chart that she can only bend down on 1 knee, and has boney growths on both knees, which prohibit her from going down on both. Nevertheless, the doctor noted that Betty should still be OK to work.
Approximately one year later, on November 29, 2019, Betty failed her physical fitness test. This time, the doctor noted that although she was OK with the hearing portion, Betty was unable to squat onto both knees and stand up without assistance.
On December 2, 2019, Crown Facility told Betty she was being terminated due to her failing the test. Betty was extremely upset. She asked for the termination to be in writing, but was told that was not possible. Crown Facility issued Betty her last check.
A couple of days later, the doctor who conducted Betty's physical called Crown and said he had made a mistake - that, in fact, Betty had not failed her exam. As a result, Crown called Betty and told her she would be able to start working again. However, Betty said she was not interested and was still extremely angry about the entire situation.
Betty is now suing Crown Facility for age discrimination and wrongful termination (based on age). Crown Facility claims that a majority of their caregivers are over the age of 60, and all of their caregivers have to pass an annual fitness exam.
- Applying the law you have learned to date, can Betty establish a claim for age discrimination against Crown Facility?
- Assuming Betty is successful in establishing a prima facie case against Crown, applying the law you have learned, explain how Crown could potentially defend itself.