A former employee has filed a lawsuit against his previous employer, alleging age discrimination as the primary reason for his termination. John McCall filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on August 20, 2024, naming Deets Mechanical, Inc. as the defendant.
According to the court documents, John McCall worked as a salesperson for Deets Mechanical, Inc., an HVAC, plumbing, and electric services contractor based in Seneca, PA, for approximately nine years. The situation took a turn in January 2023 when new management took over the company. Austin Linney became CEO and Ryan Molz assumed the role of COO. Shortly after this transition, McCall alleges that Linney began questioning him about his age with inquiries such as "How old are you?" and "When are you going to retire?" These questions were perceived by McCall as indicative of age-based bias.
McCall was one of two salespersons handling heating and air conditioning accounts under Linney's management. He claims that he received fewer profitable job leads compared to his younger colleague Jay Bowes. Additionally, McCall was excluded from important training sessions and meetings while Bowes received new equipment and more attention from management.
The complaint details an incident on June 28, 2023, where McCall had a conversation with coworker Gage Clark regarding incomplete tasks that affected McCall's job performance. This interaction was partially witnessed by Molz. Later that day, Linney confronted McCall about his age during another discussion about this incident and made a comment implying that it was inappropriate for someone aged 65 to reprimand a much younger coworker.
On June 29, 2023, Molz and Christine Manning (HR Director) informed McCall that he was being terminated due to his conduct during the previous day's conversation with Clark. When McCall reminded them of Linney's ageist remarks from the day before, Molz did not deny them. Subsequently, a termination letter dated July 10, 2023 falsely claimed that McCall had a history of verbal warnings for harassing behavior.
McCall believes these actions constitute clear violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on age. He is seeking various forms of relief including wage loss damages (back pay and front pay), liquidated damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees.
Representing John McCall are attorneys Nicholas W. Kennedy, Nicole Daller, and Giulia R. Schaub from Horne Daller LLC in Pittsburgh. The case has been assigned Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-226.