By Lauren Lifke, NM.news
A regional movie theater chain founded in New Mexico will pay $250,000 in a discrimination lawsuit that began in 2020, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The commission made the announcement in an April 10 press release.
Allen Theatres, Inc. owns 17 theaters throughout New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Ten are in New Mexico, including the Clovis location where former theatre manager Abby Parrish worked. According to the lawsuit, the president of Allen Theatres prompted 73-year-old Parrish to retire in September 2020, and didn’t allow him to work when the theatre reopened after COVID restrictions in 2021.
EEOC also alleged that a companywide discriminatory compensation policy stopped paying for Parrish’s health insurance coverage for his family because of his age, according to the release, and a class of employees ages 65 and older received less compensation because of the same policy.
The $250,000 in damages will go toward Parrish and other affected employees. The two-year decree requires the company to offer health insurance coverage to all employees 65 and older, and it will require policy revision to address age discrimination.
“The EEOC is appreciative that Allen Theatres worked with us to negotiate an early resolution to this matter,” EEOC Phoenix District Office regional attorney Mary Jo O’Neill said in the press release.