Woolworth stores
accused of age
discrimination

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit yesterday charging that the nationwide chain of F.W. Woolworth stores laid off 300 employees on the basis of their age during a two-year period.

The layoffs included 23 workers from the former Woolworth stores at Ala Moana, Pearlridge and in Waikiki.

Woolworth operated 13 stores in Hawaii for several decades before they were closed in 1997 as part of a nationwide effort by the company to close its 400 five-and-dimes across the country to focus on its sporting goods stores.

The commission filed suit yesterday in the U.S. District Court in New York against Venator Group, Specialty Inc., the nation's top retailer of athletic shoes and clothing, and owner of the former Woolworth stores.

The complaint alleges that 300 employees over 40 years old were targeted for layoff because of their ages, and that many were promptly replaced by younger persons hired from the outside.

The commission seeks back pay and liquidated damages for violations of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and an injunction to prevent Venator from discriminating in the future.

William R. Tamayo, regional attorney for the EEOC's San Francisco District that includes Hawaii, said its investigation found at least 23 cases of age discrimination in Woolworth's Hawaii operations -- confirming concerns by former Hawaii workers that they were victims of age discrimination in the retail and tourism-related industries.

San Francisco District Director Susan L. McDuffie said the lawsuit sends a message that the commission will not tolerate age discrimination under any circumstances anywhere in the country.

"We will work closely with the New York district office to vigorously prosecute this case on behalf of a nationwide class of former Woolworth's employees," McDuffie said.