DC Water to Pay $217,000 to Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), an independent authority of the Washington, D.C. government providing water and wastewater services, will pay nearly $217,000 and provide other relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit, in September 2023, DC Water fired a high-performing and experienced older member of its human resources department and replaced him with a substantially younger and less qualified candidate, one of multiple terminations of older workers in the department. The EEOC also asserted DC Water terminated this employee while violating its own policies on performance notification, progressive discipline, and internal appeals.

“Older employees are too often targets of unfounded or stereotyped assumptions, from lack of tech savvy to slower pace of work,” said Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District. “Older workers, like all workers, are entitled to be judged fairly on their own merits, and employers who target older workers for adverse action based on their age – or age-related assumptions – will hear from the EEOC.”

Conduct as alleged in the EEOC’s complaint violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits discrimination based on age for those 40 years of age or older. The EEOC filed suit in September 2025 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (EEOC v. DC Water, Case No. 1:25-cv-03189) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to almost $217,000 in monetary relief, the consent decree resolving the litigation prohibits future age discrimination and requires DC Water to take affirmative steps to prevent such unlawful conduct. This includes implementation of enhanced non-discrimination policies, notices to employees about their rights, and advanced training for DC Water’s human resources and management officials concerning federal law prohibiting discrimination, the company’s relevant non-discrimination and complaint policies, and the officials’ respective obligations under these policies.

For more information on prohibited age discrimination please visit: https://www.eeoc.gov/age-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.