The EEOC Can Still Sue Your Employer for Discrimination, Even If No Employees Complain

Employment discrimination lawsuits can only reach the courts after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) gives the employee authorization to sue.  Therefore, most employment discrimination cases begin when an employee complains to the EEOC, and the EEOC conducts an investigation to corroborate the employee’s claims.  It is a good idea to hire an employment discrimination lawyer before you contact the EEOC.  Of course, sometimes EEOC investigations begin for reasons other than an employee complaint.  The EEOC might decide to investigate based on the company’s reputation or its promotional materials.  If the EEOC is investigating your company even though you have only gotten to the stage of planning to file a formal complaint, contact a Los Angeles discrimination and harassment lawyer.

Direct Charge Leads to Age Discrimination Lawsuit

Sometimes the brand identity of a small business can seem discriminatory when you attempt to reproduce it at scale.  For example, a moving company that operates throughout California began as a small group of friends who provided low cost moving services as a part-time job while they were in college.  The original group of movers were student athletes, and as their company grew, they recruited other student athletes by word of mouth, such as their teammates, their classmates, and friends from other universities.  The word-of-mouth recruitment has been so successful that the company has been able to rely on it even as it has expanded its operations throughout the state.

Upon seeing the company’s website, which, before the investigation, advertised that “student athletes from a local college” would help customers move their belonging, the EEOC notified them that this brand image seemed designed to prevent job seekers in their 30s and older from applying, and that this is a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.  The law prohibits age discrimination against employees and job applicants above the age of 40.

Do you have to be young to be a professional mover?  For physically demanding jobs like moving, employers can require applicants to pass a health screening to show that they are capable of the prolonged heavy lifting required when moving enough furniture, appliances, and boxes of personal belongings to fill an entire house, but age by itself cannot be a factor in the hiring decision.  If you applied to work, and you think that your age is the reason that it did not hire you, contact the EEOC.  Its investigation will determine whether the company habitually rejects applications from job candidates above the age of 40, and if it finds that the company makes a practice of only hiring young people, it may authorize you to file a lawsuit.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can help you if you have been a target of age discrimination in your job search.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California to discuss your situation or call (424) 284-2401.

Source:

abc30.com/meathead-movers-company-sued-age-discrimination-eeoc-complaint/14213868/