Corpus Christi Age Discrimination Claim

U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) attorneys charge in a Corpus Christi age discrimination lawsuit that a store in Corpus Christi violated federal law by refusing to hire a 61-year-old applicant because of his age.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-25-09f.html .  According to a September 25, 2009 EEOC Press Release, the store located on Airline Road in Corpus Christi allegedly refused to hire the applicant into a loss prevention / asset protection position despite his qualifications and 27 years of experience, claiming that the man was “not a good fit and would be too hard to train.”  As stated in the Press Release, a former store employee told the applicant several months after he interviewed for the position that the manager of the Loss Prevention Department felt he was “too old” for the position.  The EEOC Press Release said that the store subsequently hired a number of individuals, most of whom were under 30, and none of whom had experience comparable to the 61-year-old applicant.  Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  EEOC attorneys filed the age discrimination lawsuit in Corpus Christi after first attempting to reach a voluntary out of court settlement.  A trial attorney in the EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office was quoted in the Press Release as saying, in part, that too often employers simply right off older applicants, with age being the determinative factor. 

In Fiscal Year 2008, the EEOC received 24,582 charges alleging age discrimination, and this is an increase of 27 percent from Fiscal Year 2007.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including age discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .