A Dallas, Texas, industrial supply company has agreed to a $210,000 settlement in an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
According to an EEOC press release issued October 6, HiLine Electric Co. had been deliberately passing over job applications that listed the age of the applicant over age 50 as part of their screening process. This practice denied employment opportunities to at least eight applicants over 50 years old. When an internal recruiter with HiLine informed the EEOC of this, the commission launched an age discrimination lawsuit alleging that the Dallas company was in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
The case had been scheduled to enter court on October 20, but HiLine agreed to settle earlier this month and pay out $210,000 to the rejected applicants. As part of the settlement, HiLine must also refrain from any future practices that use age-based criterion when considering prospective workers for employment or current employees for promotions.
"Avoiding cookie-cutter workforces based on an age limit is something we hope all employers will guard against," said Suzanne Anderson, an EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney, in an official statement. "Recruitment strategies should leave out age-based prerequisites, or preferences that potentially diminish the value of experience."
Discrimination or harassment in the workplace should never be tolerated, regardless of whether it's rooted in an employee's age, sex, religion, race or any other personal characteristic. If you believe that you have been discriminated against either at work or during the application process for any of the above factors, it's imperative to contact the Kansas City attorneys of The Meyers Law Firm right away. These locally based professionals can handle your case with expert care and fight for any compensation you might be entitled to.