Allen Theatres finalizes $250,000 settlement

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Allen Theatres, a Las Cruces-based movie theater, finalized a $250,000 settlement for alleged age discrimination that involved a former Las Cruces-based employee.

Charles Green, a Las Cruces resident who worked for Allen Theatres as its director of IT, was part of the settlement and the lead plaintiff for the small class action lawsuit, Jeff Lee, EEOC attorney, told the Bulletin. The settlement was finalized with Allen Theatres on April 10^th.

Green will receive $25,000 for his part of the suit. A Clovis man, Abby Parish, who initiated the complaint with the EEOC, will receive $215,000 for alleged loss of income. About 10 to 12 more employees are expected to receive a portion of $10,000, Lee said.

The lawsuit was initiated by Parish, who claimed he had been discriminated against because Allen Theatres forced him to retire at 72 years old after decades of working for the company, according to the complaint.

After Parish initiated his complaint, the EEOC started a wrongful termination lawsuit against Allen Theatres but then found that Allen Theatres allegedly terminated Parrish’s company-based health insurance plan when Parrish turned 65, Lee said. Parrish switched to Medicare, but required supplemental insurance, which he had to pay for out of pocket, according to Lee.

Lee said the EEOC then brought a small class action lawsuit against Allen Theatres and believe that 10 to 12 employees were affected by the alleged company policy of terminating the company-based healthcare plan for employees who turned 65 years of age.

Lee said that led the EEOC to Green, who has since retired but when still employed with Allen Theatres, also had to apply for Medicare when he turned 65 because he allegedly lost his company-based health insurance. Green became the lead plaintiff on the small class action lawsuit, Lee said.

Liz Austin, director of litigation and labor and employment practice for Allen Theatres’ law firm, Williams Weese Pepple & Ferguson, said the lawsuit was settled between the EEOC and Allen Theatres.

“Allen Theatres denies any wrongdoing, disputed the claims brought, and entered into the Consent Decree to amicably and efficiently resolve the lawsuit. As such, the parties waived an entry of findings of fact or conclusions of law,” Austin said.

Allen Theatres is a movie theater chain with operations in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona.

According to the EEOC, the alleged conduct violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits discrimination in the hiring, firing, and compensation of employees 40 years old or older because of their age. The EEOC filed suit against Allen Theatres in the U.S. District Court of New Mexico.

In addition to the financial settlement, Allen Theatres must start offering health insurance through its company plan to any employee who is over the age of 65 and not currently enrolled in the company plan, according to the Consent Decree.

The company also agreed to revise its policies to include anti-age discrimination training and investigative procedures if age discrimination is suspected, according to the Consent Decree. Allen Theatres will report its training, complaints and policy modifications to the EEOC for two years, the Consent Decree states.

According to the complaint, Allen Theatres forced Parrish to retire in September 2020 as part of a company-wide lay-off in response to the state’s public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the state of New Mexico rescinded its public health orders in the spring of 2021, Allen Theatres allegedly offered all laid-off theatre managers their jobs back except for Parish. The company replaced Parris with a 30-year-old manager, the complaint states.

EEOC also found that the company removed Parrish from its company-based health insurance plan once he turned 65 years old in 2012 even though his benefits through Medicare did not fully cover his medical expenses and he was forced to pay for a supplemental plan, the complaint states.  

Green said he is grateful to the EEOC for the outcome. Lee said the EEOC tries to reach all parts of the state.

“We try to reach out to underserved populations,” Lee said.