Federal Agency Charged Daytona Beach Seafood Restaurant Unlawfully Terminated Employee Because of Her Age
MIAMI – Divine Boiling Group, LLC, doing business as Crab Knight, a family-style seafood restaurant in Daytona Beach, Florida, will pay $30,000 and other relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the lawsuit, over a period of several weeks, the restaurant’s kitchen manager made repeated discriminatory comments about an employee’s age and finding someone younger to replace her, before firing her.
Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits workplace discrimination against individuals 40 and older. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Divine Boiling Group, LLC d/b/a Crab Knight, Case No. 6:24-cv-01711-PGB-LHP) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
In addition to the $30,000 in monetary relief, the five-year decree settling the lawsuit requires Crab Knight to revise its age discrimination policy, provide yearly training to all its owners, managers, supervisors and human resources personnel, provide a notice to all employees on how to report discrimination internally or to the EEOC, and to report any complaints to the EEOC.
“Age discrimination in the workplace is an acute and growing problem” said EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne. “This lawsuit underscores the EEOC’s commitment to protecting the rights of older workers, and we recognize Crab Knight’s commitment to ending such discrimination.”
Kristen Foslid, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Miami District Office, said “Discrimination against older employees based upon outmoded beliefs and assumptions about their capabilities is unacceptable in any workplace. We commend Crab Knight’s willingness to resolve this matter and implement revised employment policies and training for its employees.”
For more information on age discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/age-discrimination.
The Miami District Office’s jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.
The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
