Older Job Applicants Not Protected By Age Bias Law, Says U.S. Appeals Court

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthumoh/2019/01/27/older-job-applicants-not-protected-by-age-bias-law-says-us-appeals-court/?fbclid=IwAR1DJ8kZboFjV9OUR7fa5yWPinJYvzstN2f_vOFEJ-oepde5swmI0VFSR2A#180f441814d9

Ruth Umoh, Forbes Staff
Jan. 27, 2019

For decades, federal law has protected job seekers over the age of 40 from age discrimination. But in a major blow to older applicants on Wednesday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Public Appeals ruled that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only protects current employees and does not cover external applicants.

Attorney Dale Kleber, who was 58 at the time he applied for the job, claimed in a lawsuit that medical supply company CareFusion passed him over for a senior position in its law department. Instead, the company hired a less experienced 29-year-old candidate.

CareFusion’s job description required applicants to have between three to seven years of relevant legal experience but no more than seven years; Kebler had more than seven years. Represented by AARP, Kleber brought suit under Section 4(a)(2) of the ADEA, arguing that the company’s seven-year experience cap discriminates against older workers. In an 8-4 decision, the majority contended that the statute was meant to protect employees within the company from being denied employment opportunities due to age, not applicants seeking employment.

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many older U.S. workers are pushed out of the labor force before they choose to retire, leading to “irreversible financial damage,” according to an analysis by ProPublica and the Urban Institute. Coupled with the recent ruling, this creates a vicious cycle for older American workers, who already face longer bouts of unemployment than younger workers.

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Though age bias is prevalent across all industries, it is more pervasive in certain sectors, such as tech. In a wide-ranging annual survey of venture-backed tech founders, more than a quarter reported that age bias runs rampant, starting as early as age 36.

Much of the age burden is shouldered by women and minorities. One study found that women stop getting promoted into managerial positions at the same rate as men once they hit their early 30s, while a 2018 report from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saw increases in reports of age discrimination filed by blacks and Asians.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Seventh_Circuit

[All buy two of the judges on this court were appointed by republican presidents.]

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-labor-age-bias/age-bias-law-does-not-cover-job-applicants-u-s-appeals-court-idUSKCN1PI02N

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Wednesday’s majority opinion was written by Circuit Judge Michael Scudder, an appointee of President Donald Trump.

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Circuit Judge David Hamilton, an appointee of President Barack Obama, dissented, saying extending ADEA protections to job applicants tracked the U.S. Supreme Court’s view of Title VII.

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http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2019/D01-23/C:17-1206:J:Easterbrook:dis:T:fnOp:N:2282572:S:0

[Both of the judges appointed by Democratic presidents dissented: Diane Pamela Wood (appointed by Clinton), and David F. Hamilton (appointed by Obama).
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