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A North Carolina-based company under contract to maintain state-owned rest areas will pay more than $39,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

A news release from the commission on Friday said Liberty Support Services, Inc. of Raleigh was charged with violating federal law when it fired or refused to rehire four rest area attendants employed at the Cherokee County Rest Area in 2016 after it was closed for renovations.

The commission said the attendants, all of whom were over age 40, expected to return to their jobs. Instead, they learned they had been discharged and replaced with younger workers.

The EEOC said Liberty Support discharged or failed to rehire the employees because of their respective ages, violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The law is designed to protect individuals age 40 and over from employment discrimination and makes it illegal for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or discharge anyone because of his or her age.

In addition to the monetary relief, the three-year consent decree settling the lawsuit requires Liberty Support to adopt an anti-discrimination policy and provide training for its owners and employees on the ADEA.

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