An 80-year-old woman is suing Home Depot for age discrimination after the store fired her for buying four 6-cent screws and not actually taking them home. Ellen Strickland says she bought the 24-cents worth of merchandise in order to get cash back on her debit card, something employees did all the time to avoid being charged ATM fees. However, Home Depot accused her of messing up inventory and after a "full investigation" she was fired less than 24 hours later.
Strickland, a 19-year Home Depot employee, has filed an age discrimination suit against the store, claiming younger employees were never punished for the same actions. She was also named a "top performer" at an evaluation just three days before she was fired. Her lawyer said, "She didn't even take the screws that she paid for. If anything, she donated four screws to the store. This shows a blatant case of age discrimination."
