Goodrich Employees Confirm Firing Of Teens, Company Stays Silent

OSWEGO, IL — Multiple employees of the national Goodrich Quality Theater cinema chain are now saying that the company will be firing all of its 16- and 17-year-old workers over the course of 2020. Goodrich Quality Theaters operates 30 theaters across Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri and Florida, mostly in small or mid-sized towns. The closest local theater is GQT Kendall 11 GDX, located at 95 Fifth St, Oswego. For the sake of this report, Patch contacted multiple theaters in different states. All confirmed that the company planned to terminate its under-18 employees.

The 16-year-olds are set to be let go by the first January, employees said, while 17-year-olds will be gone by July. One former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, first reached out to Patch after the teenage workers in question created an online petition to save their jobs. At time of publication, the petition already had more 5,500 signatures.

One employee at the Kendall 11 GDX, who also asked to remain anonymous, said they didn't get much explanation at all about the impending firings.

"I found out about a month ago; it was really disheartening because most of us are under 18 ... I guess [Bob Goodrich] just wants to make changes in the company for reasons that don't make sense to us right now," they said.

The layoff periods for the teenage workers —-January and July for 16 and 17-year-olds, respectively — correlate with planned increases to Illinois minimum wage over the course of 2020. On Jan. 1, the state minimum wage will increase from $8.25 per hour to $9.25 per hour, while on July 1 it will increase to $10 an hour. Except for Indiana, all other states where Goodrich Quality Theaters operate are also slated to see minimum wage increases throughout 2020.

When notified this was the case, the Kendall 11 employee said, "It really could be he doesn't want to pay us the up-and-coming wage. That's really the only thing I can think of."

The online petition claims that the terminations are a form of age-based discrimination, but one that is allowed by the law. Indeed, the 1967 national Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which is supposed to protect employees from professional ageism, only applies to workers over the age of 40.

Howard Eglit, a professor emeritus of the Chicago-Kent College of Law who specialized in employment and labor law, said that employment discrimination cases related to young workers as opposed to old are very rare.

"There are a number of cases around the country, but very specific to the issue of voting," he said. "A number of cases involving teenagers... who wanted to run for the local school board and there would be an age limit for holding public office... and the claim is made, 'well this is age discrimination because I'm being barred from eligibility for even running for office.'"

"I don't really think it has any bearing with regard to this issue," he added

Eglit said the Human Rights Acts of most of the states where Goodrich theaters are located would also likely provide no protection to young workers. Their age-discrimination-in-employment clauses only apply to elderly employees, often relating to cases of forced retirement. The one exception to this may be the 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of Michigan, the state where Goodrich Quality Theaters is based and where 14 of their 30 theaters are located.

The Elliott-Larsen Act is broadly worded, and may provide teenage workers there some legal recourse against their looming termination. It states that employers shall not, "fail or refuse to hire or recruit, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to employment, compensation, or a term, condition, or privilege of employment, because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, or marital status."

"Michigan has one of the broadest [employment discrimination] statutes in the country," Eglit said.

Regardless of the legality of the move, the former employee who contacted Patch said that many of the young workers at the theater chain enjoy the work. She said she hopes Bob Goodrich changes his mind regarding the terminations, and that they don't wish to see the teens lose a job they enjoy.

"This is a great starter job for anyone who’s entering the work force for the first time. It gives kids an opportunity to work for things that they want, it gives them a sense of accomplishment," they said via email. "I started this job at 16 and have learned a lot in three years."

The interviewed employee at Kendall 11 said much the same.

"I'd like to say that this job has offered a lot of us different opportunities, it's been really good for the majority of us here," they said. "It's offered me a way to make my own personal income as a teenager... I encourage [Goodrich] to re-think his decision, because it's really not fair to us; we haven't really been given an explanation, even at this point."

It is unclear how many teenage workers will lose their jobs in 2020 if the terminations proceed as employees have said. The Kendall 11 employee said they expect up to 25 teens to lose their jobs at that theater alone.

Despite numerous calls, Bob Goodrich did not return Patch's requests for comment.

This story will be updated as new information arises.