Retirees Still Facing Age Discrimination in Employment EEOC Action Shows
A staffing firm sent an email to the applicant telling him he would no longer be considered for a position because he was “born in 1945,” and “age will matter,” according to the EEOC.
An information technology (IT) staffing firm, Diverse Lynx, has paid a $50,000 fine to settle a lawsuit that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought against it for discriminating against a job applicant due to his age.
The EEOC said Diverse Lynx sent an email to the applicant telling him he would no longer be considered for the position because he was “born in 1945,” and “age will matter.”
Under a consent decree entered by the court, Diverse Lynx can no longer consider a job applicant’s age and may not ask them for their year of birth before referring them to a prospective employer. Additionally, Diverse Lynx has agreed to give all of its employees training on complying with federal anti-discrimination laws and has asserted that it will not retaliate against those who complain of discrimination.
“A basic principle of anti-discrimination law requires that job applicants be judged on their individual qualification,” says EEOC senior trial attorney Rosemary DiSavino. “Employers and employment agencies that consider an applicant’s protected trait, such as age, violate federal law and will be prosecuted.”
As people are living longer and wanting to work longer, witnesses at an EEOC hearing last June about the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) made suggestions about how regulators and employers can reduce age discrimination and help people work longer.