Former brewer slaps Yuengling with age discrimination suit

A former brewer is suing Pennsylvania-based Yuengling after he was terminated for missing work to attend a court hearing, according to a lawsuit filed in Hillsborough County.

Eric Abrams began working at Yuengling in 2008. He was fired from the company’s Tampa brewery in 2017 two days after attending a divorce-related proceeding. Abrams claims he received advanced permission to participate in the action.

He argues the real reason Yuengling fired him was they had a “much younger person” on deck to replace him. Abrams, a resident of Lutz, is now 54 years old.

Abrams and his former wife Denise Abrams divorced in September 2017.

Yuengling, which calls itself “America’s oldest brewery,” started operating in Tampa in 1999. Earlier this year the company purchased naming rights to what was previously the USF Sun Dome that hosts school sporting events, concerts, and the school’s graduation commencement ceremonies.

The company signed a six-figure agreement with the University of South Florida for a ten-year contract for naming rights. Currently, the facility is hosting volleyball games, but a symphonic tribute to the late singer Prince is scheduled October 5, and a live Sesame Street show October 12-14.

Abrams filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for age discrimination, but that complaint is unresolved.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prohibits discrimination based on an employee or applicant’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Employees or job applicants can also file complaints if they believe they have been discriminated against based on opposing a prohibited practice or participating in an EEOC matter or proceeding.

Abrams has been arrested twice. He was arrested in 2009 for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and then again in 2010 for violating his probation in that case, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.