A former chief human resources officer at Elevance Health, Troy Henagan, has filed a lawsuit against the company in a Georgia federal court, alleging age discrimination after his termination in June 2024.
The lawsuit claims Mr. Henagan, 62, was unlawfully replaced as Carelon's CHRO by a younger individual and alleges that his termination violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Elevance denied the allegations in an October response, asserting that Mr. Henagan's termination was based on legitimate business decisions unrelated to his age.
Mr. Henagan had been with Elevance since 2019. According to the September complaint, his supervisor informed him in February 2024 that the company wanted "to go in another direction" and hire a younger person for his role, describing the decision as a "win-win" because people assumed Mr. Henagan wanted to retire. Mr. Henagan resisted this alleged narrative, proposing to remain through the end of the year, but his proposal was rejected. He claims his departure was falsely framed as a retirement in company communications, and his position was ultimately filled by someone under the age of 43.
In its response, Elevance denied any discriminatory statements attributed to Mr. Henagan's supervisor, such as a desire to hire a younger person. The company is arguing that Henagan agreed to describe his departure as a retirement and asserts that it acted in good faith to comply with anti-discrimination laws.
Mr. Henagan is seeking damages for lost wages, liquidated damages for alleged willful violations, attorneys' fees, and equitable relief.