78-Year-Old Woman Wins Age Discrimination Case

YERUSHALAYIM
An aide takes care of an elderly Israeli man sitting in a wheelchair. Photo by Abir Sultan/Flash90
An aide takes care of an elderly Israeli man in a wheelchair. (Abir Sultan/Flash90)

A 78-year-old woman who was told not to return to work was awarded NIS 355,000 ($95,000) to settle her discrimination suit against the Tiv Taam supermarket chain. The award was granted, the court said, due to the Yokneam woman’s embarrassment at being categorized as old and incapacitated, as well due to the fact that the household did not have financial resources to fall back on.

The woman, who was employed as a cashier at the local Tiv Taam outlet, had asked for a leave of absence for several days to take care of her daughter, who was suffering from a fatal disease. She was granted the leave, but after returning was told that she was being fired.

The store, meanwhile, hired another worker – much younger than the complainant. The store did not explicitly say that it was firing the worker due to her age, but the court determined that the hiring of a younger person in her place was enough to warrant awarding the case – and the money – to the plaintiff.

The court said that the law was very clear on the matter, and that it was difficult to believe that at this point in time there were still employers who practiced age discrimination – and felt they could get away with it.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!