Fired analyst accuses S&S Activewear of age bias and retaliation

The friction, the complaint says, ran through his managers. He alleges that his director of finance, described in the filing as in his mid-30s and substantially younger, favored younger employees – quick to support and respond to his younger colleagues while ignoring the analyst’s emails and his contributions during meetings. Around November 2025, the filing says, the company placed him on a performance improvement plan, or PIP, a formal process that sets targets an employee must meet.

He then began reporting to a new manager, also described as in his mid-30s and substantially younger. The filing alleges this manager held a discriminatory animus toward him based on his age. When the analyst asked for clarification on an assignment, the manager allegedly replied, “you’re wasting my fucking time.” The complaint says the manager also made remarks such as, “You should have never asked these questions,” and, “God dammit, this is how I want it done.” The filing alleges the manager frequently cancelled meetings that were meant to help him complete the PIP.

The analyst says he submitted a complaint to a human resources representative about the manager’s hostile and abusive language. According to the filing, the behavior continued.

The company terminated his employment on or about January 9, 2026, the complaint says. On or about March 26, 2026, the filing alleges, S&S Activewear hired a replacement of approximately 32 – a worker the complaint describes as substantially younger.

For HR leaders, the shape of the case is familiar. An internal complaint about a manager, followed within weeks by a termination, is the pattern that tends to invite a retaliation claim, where timing carries real weight. A PIP can cut both ways: designed as a support tool, it can be recast by a plaintiff as a paper trail built to justify an exit – especially when, as alleged here, the supporting meetings kept falling off the calendar. And a younger worker moving into the same role gives an age claim its comparison point.