--- title: "Hey Old Man, When Are You Going to Retire? And Other Things You Should Never Say At Work." description: "" url: "https://wimlaw.com/articles/hey-old-man-when-are-you-going-to-retire-and-other-things-you-should-never-say-at-work" date: "2026-06-10T09:38:24+00:00" language: "en-US" --- # Hey Old Man, When Are You Going to Retire? And Other Things You Should Never Say At Work. Written on February 24, 2020. You would think that it would be simple to terminate a worker who admits to sending sexually suggestive messages containing nude photos and disparaging jokes about “women libbers” and “gays” over the company’s email system. Well, when that worker’s managers constantly ask him about his retirement plans, make comments about getting rid of “older” and “senior” workers, and even lower the scores of older workers on performance evaluations so younger operators would have a better shot at promotions and bonuses, you have the classic question of fact to be decided by a jury: was the worker terminated for violating the company’s policy against sexual harassment, or was he terminated because of his age (57)? Add to that a claim of harassment on the basis of age, and you have a recent case out of Louisiana, *Venable v. EnLink Midstream Operating, LP* , M.D. La., No. 3:18-cv-00847 (2/20/20). Plaintiff Venable’s emails came to light during a company investigation of another employee. Venable had sent emails that included a joke (entitled "Moose") featuring a picture of a woman's genitals, another joke (entitled "Will the US Dollar fall?") depicting a picture of a dollar bill lodged in between a woman's buttocks, and an email (entitled "Heterosexual Male Pride Day") which disparaged "women libbers" and "gays" and featured a picture of a completely nude woman with her hands placed suggestively on her chest. He admitted to sending all of them, and he was terminated. The Plaintiff, however, did not go away quietly. He claimed that he was "systematically targeted" "because of his age in an effort to secure his termination." Plaintiff said that he was repeatedly called an "old man" and "old fart" by much younger employees, and that throughout 2015-2017, manager began harassing Plaintiff because of his age, referring to him as "senior" operator, "old guy," and "problem guy," in a derogatory and intimidating manner. Plaintiff further claimed that his immediate supervisor told him that upper management directed him to "get rid" of the "senior" operators, including Plaintiff. Plaintiff also claimed that upper management directed Plaintiff’s supervisor to force Plaintiff into retirement by constantly asking when he would do so. Plaintiff claimed he felt targeted, threatened, and offended, and this caused him to begin making mistakes at work that he did not usually make. He eventually filed a lawsuit alleging violations of the Age Discrimination on Employment Act as well as the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law. The employer filed a motion for summary judgment, but it was denied on the ground that there were genuinely disputed facts regarding the employer’s motive in Plaintiff's termination-- was he fired due to the emails or due to his age? A jury will have to figure that out. On the claim of harassment on the basis of age, the Court also denied the employer’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the *Ellerth/Faragher* affirmative defense was not available to the employer because the Plaintiff was allegedly the victim of a tangible employment action - termination - by at least one of his alleged harassers. **We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again**: comments about the age or retirement plans of workers over the age of 40 can lead to claims of age discrimination. Moreover, employees can use these types of comments as a shield against employment actions such as a termination that otherwise has good grounds. - [](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Farticles%2Fhey-old-man-when-are-you-going-to-retire-and-other-things-you-should-never-say-at-work.md&text=) - [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Farticles%2Fhey-old-man-when-are-you-going-to-retire-and-other-things-you-should-never-say-at-work.md) - [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Farticles%2Fhey-old-man-when-are-you-going-to-retire-and-other-things-you-should-never-say-at-work.md) - [](mailto:?subject=Hey%20Old%20Man%2C%20When%20Are%20You%20Going%20to%20Retire%3F%20And%20Other%20Things%20You%20Should%20Never%20Say%20At%20Work.) ![Kathleen J. Jennings](https://wimlaw.com/images/resources/articles/2020/06/kathleen-portrait-300.jpg) Kathleen J. Jennings Former Principal Kathleen J. Jennings is a former principal in the Atlanta office of Wimberly, Lawson, Steckel, Schneider, & Stine, P.C. She defends employers in employment matters, such as sexual harassment, discrimination, Wage and Hour, OSHA, restrictive covenants, and other employment litigation and provides training and counseling to employers in employment matters. ## Related Content ## Get Email Updates Receive newsletters and alerts directly in your email inbox. Sign up below. ## Recent Content [ Articles ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=205) [ ![ai, human reach out](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/f1/igor-omilaev-FHgWFzDDAOs-unsplash-f12346e8.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53)### [FCRA Litigation Challenges Employers’ Use of AI Hiring Platforms](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) A January 20, 2026, class action filed against Eightfold AI, Inc. in California is sending shockwaves through the employer and AI community… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53) [ ![danger sign, skull](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/01/mikael-seegen-jX6WXNkvsPs-unsplash-01c1ebef.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53)### [The Dangers of Employers Using AI Research Tools as to Discovery Requests from Plaintiffs](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) A second “bombshell” affecting HR pertaining to AI is a federal court ruling in New York, that a defendant’s use of AI in researching and p… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53) [ ![CHAT GPT](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/64/emiliano-vittoriosi-fvxNerA8uk0-unsplash-64a16be4.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53)### [Two Subsequent Cases Protect Defendant’s Use of AI as Subject to Work-product Protection](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) Soon after the deciding of the above-discussed case on February 17, 2026, in U.S. v. Heppner, a criminal case in the District Court for the… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53) [ ![avoid, wave away](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/6f/priscilla-du-preez-NQTphr4Pr60-unsplash-6fb4df83.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53)### [Is There Anything an Employer Can Do to Avoid Waiving Privileges in Using AI Research Tools?](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) There are no easy answers to the above question, but some general observations will nevertheless be made. First, the New York district cou… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53) [ ![ai visualization](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/45/milad-fakurian-5yWtM3M3JKM-unsplash-45306e6d.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53)### [Suggestions on Use of AI](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) Perhaps the starting point is to look at the type of AI platforms generally available. At a recent conference about AI use for HR, speaker… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53) [ ![june 2026 legal immigration webinar promo graphic](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/45/june-2026-webinar-immigration-453d45bc.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221)### [Worksite Enforcement and TPS and Parole Status Update](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221) [Webinars: Employment Law "Hot Topics"](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=221) The webinar covers how to deal with a worksite enforcement action and various types of immigration enforcement activities. The webinar also… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221) ### Additional Legal Resources [### Newsletter Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters) [### Books Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/publications/books) [### Alerts Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/alerts) [### Articles Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/articles) [### Audits Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/audits) [### Events Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/events) ## Schema ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://wimlaw.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Articles", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/articles" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hey Old Man, When Are You Going to Retire? And Other Things You Should Never Say At Work.", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/articles/hey-old-man-when-are-you-going-to-retire-and-other-things-you-should-never-say-at-work" } ] } ```