(CBS DETROIT) – A Henry Ford Health ophthalmologist in Grosse Pointe Park is suing the health system for age discrimination because it requires a cognition assessment for those 70 years of age and older, according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit was filed in September by Dr. Lylas Mogk against Henry Ford Health and Henry Ford Medical Group. It is pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991, Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 and Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act. 

Mogk, 84, has worked for Henry Ford Health since Jan. 1, 1995, and is the founder and immediate past director of the Henry Ford Center for Vision Rehabilitation and Research. 

In addition, Mogk is a member of the Henry Ford Medical Group, which means she is subject to the Henry Ford Medical Group Senior and Bioscientific Staff Fitness for Duty Policy, which was adopted by the group in 2017. 

Age-based cognition test

The Henry Ford Medical Group Senior and Bioscientific Staff Fitness for Duty Policy says all Henry Ford Medical Group members who are 70 years old must take a screening assessment, based solely on age, for cognition, according to the lawsuit. 

The assessment must then be repeated once a member reaches age 75 and then be repeated annually. 

Then, if further evaluation is required, the member will have a full Fitness for Duty Evaluation by an independent assessor. 

In addition, the lawsuit says if a member fails to comply with the age-based screening assessment, that employee will voluntarily resign or be terminated. 

Mogk was required to take the assessment in 2018 solely based on her age. 

The lawsuit claims the assessment deprives these members of employment opportunities or affects their employment status because of their age and that the medical group limited, segregated or classified employees in a way that would adversely affect their employment status.  

In addition, the lawsuit alleges the defendants didn’t have a reasonable basis for believing members could not perform the functions of their jobs or that they posed a threat to safety.

The lawsuit wants the court to stop the implementation of this age-based cognition assessment and award Mogk and the other plaintiffs back pay/damages for lost earnings, with interest, including liquidated damages for any compensation lost by them as a result of the assessment.