A former program manager at Midnight Mission has been awarded $1.34 million by a jury after claiming that he was wrongfully terminated in 2017 due to his age. The jury reached a verdict after less than a day of deliberation, holding Midnight Mission accountable for age discrimination and failure to prevent it. Ronald Holmes, who is now 67 years old, was 61 at the time of his termination.
Holmes joined the mission in 1999 as a resident and a recovering addict, bringing valuable firsthand knowledge of the challenges faced by the mission’s clients. This made him an exemplary figure for individuals in the recovery program, as stated in Holmes’ court documents.
According to Holmes’ court papers, he saw his position at Midnight Mission as his true calling. He was promoted to program manager in 2004 and held the position until his wrongful demotion in 2017.
In 2016, a new executive team took over Midnight Mission and shifted its focus from a treatment and recovery center to a homeless shelter. According to Holmes’ court documents, this new management team made a deliberate effort to eliminate older employees, referring to them as the “old guard”.
Holmes claimed that the new management subjected older employees, including himself, to unjustified write-ups, false evaluations, and excessive monitoring. Furthermore, the managers failed to investigate any complaints made by older employees against new hires, as stated in Holmes’ court papers.
In November 2017, Holmes received his second write-up in 18 years, citing vague allegations of poor performance during probation. The termination letter followed the next day, according to Holmes’ court documents.
In response to Holmes’ claims, an attorney for Midnight Mission argued that Holmes neglected his duties and received counseling and warnings from different supervisors regarding his subpar performance. The attorney stated that Holmes was terminated due to his “repeated offenses” and for sleeping on the job.
According to court documents submitted by the defense attorneys, nearly 42% of Midnight Mission employees were over the age of 45 in July 2019, when Holmes filed his lawsuit.
