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Unions Sue T-Mobile, Cox Over 'Age Discrimination'

The Communications Workers of America have filed a new lawsuit (pdf) against T-Mobile, Cox, and Amazon -- accusing the companies of engaging in age discrmination in its hiring practices. According to the lawsuit, the companies practice of limiting recruitment ads to specific age groups on Facebook violates the rights of older, more experienced potential hires. The lawsuit comes after an investigation by ProPublica found numerous companies engaged in the practice, including Verizon (which for some reason isn't named in the CWA's lawsuit).

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Goldman Sachs, Target, and Facebook itself are also named in the investigation but left out of the lawsuit.

"These companies eliminate older workers from receiving job ads by specifically targeting their employment ads to younger workers via Facebook’s ad platform," the suit alleges.

“For example, T-Mobile recently sent the following ad via Facebook to recruit prospective job applicants for its stores nationwide, and in doing so, upon information and belief, limited the population receiving the ad to 18- to 38-year-olds. The screenshot (above, left) shows that T-Mobile sent the job ad because T-Mobile ‘wants to reach people ages 18 to 38 who live or were recently in the United States.'"

The original ProPublica investigation argued that the practice could violate the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which forbids hiring or employment bias against people 40 years old or older. T-Mobile has consistently been a target of the union for its attempts to block workers from unionizing, including one suit that accused the "uncarrier" of creating a fake union with the specific task of preventing real ones.

Most recommended from 29 comments



wavelength
CyberSec Pro
join:2015-05-22
Raleigh, NC
Juniper SRX240
Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-PRO

2 recommendations

wavelength

Member

Targeting older workers for entry level jobs?

The example ad used seems to hint that the posting was for an entry-level customer care position.

How many people over the age of 38, much less 30, are really going to apply for an entry level position in customer care?

My guess is that T-Mobile did the math, realized that few people over the age of 38 are going to apply and saved a few bucks not targeting people who won't apply.

A perfectly reasonable course of action, unless you want to sue, in which case it is a nefarious and malicious conspiracy against older workers.

Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

2 recommendations

Mike

Mod

Then sue everyone next

Target universities for holding job fairs.

Economist
The economy, stupid
Premium Member
join:2015-07-10
united state

2 recommendations

Economist

Premium Member

Targeting specific demographics with advertising isn't discriminatory

Systematically quashing well fermented APPLICANTS is. There is nothing codified in law that says I, as an employer, have to advertise at the Bingo parlor or during Murder She Wrote. There is no "Fairness Doctrine" for job advertising.

Now if I target Facebook lower age demo and some old codger applies, I cannot take his age into consideration when hiring. I can only legally consider his physical abilities, such as, you must be able to lift 50lbs, and such, if it is truly applicable to the job.