A former high-ranking employee is taking legal action against his previous employer, alleging age discrimination and wrongful termination. Paul Kevin Kelley filed a complaint on June 7, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division against Medcor, Inc., and its subsidiary Medcor Safety, LLC.
Kelley’s complaint details a series of events beginning with his employment at Worldwide Safety Professionals, LLC (a subsidiary of Medcor) in March 2006. Over the years, Kelley ascended through various roles including Operations Manager, Safety Director, Executive Director, and ultimately Divisional Vice President by January 2019. Despite consistently positive performance reviews and being well-regarded by colleagues, Kelley was demoted on October 31, 2022. During a strategic planning meeting at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Ben Peterson—a part owner of Medcor—informed Kelley that he would be demoted to Executive Director with a significant pay cut. Simultaneously, William Ryan Hunt was hired to fill Kelley’s previous role as Divisional Vice President. Notably, Hunt is twenty years younger than Kelley.
The situation further deteriorated when Medcor executives announced budget cuts for 2023 that included eliminating executive bonuses. On January 9, 2023, Mark Smolenski—another part owner—proposed an exit package for Kelley via email to Phil Seeger and Ben Peterson. The proposed severance was $45,945 but was later increased to $50,030 after approval from Seeger and Peterson. Despite earlier assurances from Peterson that Kelley would receive his bonus for meeting performance goals in 2022, it was communicated during a video conference on January 12 that no such bonus would be paid.
Kelley asserts that his termination was not only unjust but also indicative of systematic age discrimination within Medcor. He points out that at the time of his demotion and replacement by Hunt (who is significantly younger), he was fifty-five years old—placing him within the protected age group under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Moreover, Kelley alleges that this discriminatory practice extends beyond his case as evidenced by directives to reduce executive bonuses.
On May 8, 2023, Kelley filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding these incidents but has yet to receive a response. He seeks compensatory damages exceeding $75,000 for lost compensation and benefits along with punitive damages for emotional distress caused by these actions. Additionally included are attorney’s fees and costs incurred due to what he deems violations of ADEA by Medcor's owners and officers who knowingly allowed such discriminatory practices.
Representing Paul Kevin Kelley are attorneys Daniel J. Mohan, Jeffrey J. Scolaro, and Adrian D. Riordan from Mohan Groble Scolaro P.C., based in Chicago.