Stephen McElroy, a former USC employee, filed a lawsuit against the University alleging ageism, violation of labor laws and wrongful termination. McElroy, who worked at USC’s Marine Science Center on Catalina Island for more than three decades, was fired Sept. 17, 2021 for “engaging in unacceptable and unprofessional conduct including being under the influence of alcohol during work hours.”

McElroy worked at the lab beginning in 1988, when he was about 28 years old. He was promoted into the role of facilities manager in 1992 or 1993, according to the suit. 

“As Facilities Manager, Plaintiff was responsible for overseeing the entire 1.5-mile area of this sprawling complex, and every building within it,” his attorney Tracy Fehr wrote in the lawsuit filed Sept. 1. His attorneys allege that he had to be available at all hours of the day, and had to work on Thanksgiving and Christmas. They also allege he sometimes worked for weeks with no days off. 

The lawsuit alleges that around 2014 or 2015, the University reduced McElroy’s staff from 12 to five people. The changes “transformed [McElroy’s] work, resulting in him doing much less supervising and much more performing maintenance and other physical tasks, including digging footing and trenches with a backhoe,” alleged the suit. 

He remained as an exempt employee, and was not paid the overtime hours he worked, even though his job had shifted away from a managerial role to physical labor, attorneys allege. 

By 2020, only two other workers remained on his team. 

The lawsuit further alleges that one of his supervisors, Shawn Connor, said McElroy couldn’t be replaced but that he thought McElroy was making too much money. 

“Connor and other supervisory personnel repeatedly asked [McElroy] whether he’d be retiring in the near future, even though Plaintiff had repeatedly stated this was not his plan,” alleged the suit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. 

The lawsuit also described an incident in which Joshua Dawes, a staffer on Catalina Island, allegedly attacked McElroy. 

Dawes, who was allegedly intoxicated at the time, was delivering a package to McElroy Oct. 2, 2020. McElroy invited him into his home, and Dawes began to scream incoherently. 

McElroy went to check on Dawes afterward, and “as [McElroy] knocked on the door, he could hear Dawes slamming things inside the house. Before Plaintiff could turn away to leave, Dawes suddenly opened the door, grabbed Plaintiff by the throat, and began choking Plaintiff,” the suit alleges. “Dawes was a younger man under age 40, while Plaintiff was 64 years old, and Dawes overpowered Plaintiff.”

An investigation was launched into the incident, and the lawsuit alleges that “USC’s investigator was condescending and hostile during her interview of Plaintiff and often interrupted him and interjected comments,” and that Dawes was still allowed to work during the eight-month investigation into his alleged attack on McElroy. 

The investigation conclusion was sent to McElroy June 9, 2021. 

“USC acknowledged that Dawes had behaved violently toward Plaintiff, had aggressively yelled at Plaintiff, and had put his hands on Plaintiff’s neck,” alleged the lawsuit. “However, USC also found that Plaintiff had been intoxicated on duty, despite the fact that Plaintiff had been at home and not on duty when the attack occurred.”

In an interview with the Daily Trojan, Dawes said he and McElroy were terminated “on the same day for both of us for drinking while on the clock.”

Dawes denied the allegations of violence against him in McElroy’s lawsuit.

“[McElroy] needs to be a man and grow up and take his punishment, admit his mistakes like I have,” Dawes said. “I admit I was wrong. I could have kept my cool. I could have realized what we were doing was wrong.”

The University fired McElroy three months later in September. In the suit, McElroy alleged that “no one from USC followed up with Plaintiff regarding his termination,” and that he received his termination documents only three days prior to the appeal deadline.

In an emailed statement to the Daily Trojan, the University wrote that the lawsuit is without merit.

“We look forward to defending against the claims in court,” the statement read.

McElroy is seeking to be reinstated in his former position and compensation from the University, including lost wages, benefits, and damages for “physical sickness, emotional distress, humiliation and mental anguish.” He is also seeking “injunctive relief, including mandatory training on preventing age discrimination and retaliation.”

McElroy’s attorneys declined the Daily Trojan’s requests for comment on the case.