A dozen former workers have sued the Golden Mardi Gras casino in Black Hawk claiming the company discriminated against them by laying off 60 mostly older and female employees one month and then replacing them with younger, less qualified staffers the following month.

The lawsuit was filed Sunday U.S. District Court in Denver on behalf of a dozen former casino workers including blackjack dealers, drink servers and bankers by Lisa Sahli, an attorney from San Luis Obispo, Calif.

It names Golden Mardi Gras parent company, Affinity Gaming of Las Vegas, which purchased the casino and two other Black Hawk casinos in November of 2012, as a defendant.

The company immediately required all Golden Mardi Gras employees to reapply for their jobs and in January of 2013, laid off 60 employees despite adequate or superior job ratings, the lawsuit says. It then hired 59 younger employees in February of 2013, it says.

Affinity Gaming officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday morning.

The former Mardi Gras employees, ranging in age from 43 to 74, are seeking unspecified compensation for lost wages, pension benefits and punitive damages.

Nine of the 12 plaintiffs in the case were women. The lawsuit accuses the Black Hawk casino of targeting older women including 74-year-old Georgean LaBute of gender discrimination.

The plaintiffs also include black jack dealers Kurt Arntsen, 60, and John Roberts, 62, both dedicated employees. Roberts had prided himself at being able to keep gamblers at his table for lengthy periods of time.

It also accuses Mardi Gra of violating the Family Medical Leave Act by firing Annette Trujillo two weeks after she applied for a leave to care for her father, who was suffering from bone cancer.

When the manager fired employees, they were given explanations including, “I don’t know why,” and “you are not what Affinity is looking for.”