Waitress says age discrimination kept her from lucrative night shift

A waitress at a Malvern, Pa., restaurant says her employers refused to assign her the more lucrative evening shifts because of her older age, according to a federal suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She seeks damages under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

Lucia Miesse, 59, of Phoenixville, Pa., worked at Baxter’s of Great Valley since December 2011. At a certain point, Miesse came to the realization that the night shift, which paid better tips, was always assigned to a younger, 19-year-old waitress.

When she requested some hours in the evening, the complaint says that the owner told Miesse she could only work lunches and not nights. After the denial, the owner suddenly reduced Miesse’s hours from five to two lunch shifts and gave her hours to a 48-year-old waitress.

The loss of shifts forced Miesse to apply for partial unemployment, a move that the plaintiff alleges made the owner angry. He allegedly retaliated with forcing her resignation by assigning her shifts on days he knew she could not work.

Miesse seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the restaurant’s parent company, Lincoln Court Food Service, for the discriminatory actions of its employees. She claims she suffered humiliation, embarrassment and emotional distress as a result of the defendant’s actions, which violated federal and state statutes.

The plaintiff is represented by Edward Sweeney of Wusinich & Brogan in Downingtown, Pa.

The federal case ID number is 2:14-cv-03786-MMB.