AutoZone Fails to Beat Worker’s Medical Leave Retaliation Claims

July 8, 2025, 8:55 PM UTC

A lawsuit claiming AutoZoners LLC retaliated against a worker in his 60s for taking protected medical leave will go to trial, a federal judge said.

A jury could find that AutoZone’s stated reasons for Michael Persichini’s demotion were pretext, so his allegations over his transfer to a smaller store upon his return from medical leave are sufficient, Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts said in a Monday order partially denying AutoZone summary judgment.

Persichini, who was over 60 years old, was working as a district manager in 2021, overseeing one of ...

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