Raytheon discriminates against older job applicants, AARP alleges

For years, Raytheon has systematically discriminated against older workers by writing job listings in a way that effectively excludes people over 40 as applicants or discourages them from applying for open positions at the defense contractor, a new proposal alleges. of collective action.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the AARP Foundation alleges that Raytheon violated federal and state laws that protect against age discrimination in hiring, including by targeting job offers only to recent graduates or applicants less than 24 months old. of relevant professional experience. Age discrimination in hiring is widespread in the U.S., AARP said, adding that the complaint aims to highlight that such practices are illegal.

“Raytheon’s recent hiring requirement for college graduates intentionally and effectively excludes nearly all older workers from qualifying for, competing for, and obtaining many jobs at Raytheon,” the AARP Foundation alleges in the lawsuit, which the advocacy group filed in district court of Massachusetts. “And Raytheon routinely posts job advertisements for various jobs where the only basic qualification is being a recent graduate and where Raytheon illegally indicates a preference for younger workers and discrimination against older workers and dissuades older workers from applying .”

Raytheon did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment.

Attorneys for the lead plaintiff in the case, Virginia resident Mark Goldstein, 67, noted that the 2021 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that Raytheon’s hiring practices violated the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and charged the company to continue to reject and discourage older job applicants simply based on age.

“This is a pretty common practice that we see in a lot of different industries,” Peter Romer-Friedman, the plaintiff’s attorney, told CBS MoneyWatch.

AARP, or American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit advocacy group that represents the interests of people over 50. The AARP Foundation is the charitable arm of the organization.

“Categorically excluded”

More specifically, many Raytheon job advertisements include phrases such as “recent graduate” or “recent graduate,” according to the lawsuit. Postings on the company’s career website and other job boards also require candidates to have less than one or two years of experience to meet the company’s qualifications.

“At Raytheon in particular, over the past five to six years, we have seen the company routinely post job advertisements for a number of positions in different areas where the basic professional qualification is the person having recently graduated from college, or, if they have graduated , must have less than 24 months of experience,” said Romer-Friedman.

According to the complaint, “the vast majority of qualified older workers are categorically selected by Raytheon solely on the basis of their year of college graduation, which Raytheon requires be provided with their applications, either by an automated system or by an employee can easily estimate a candidate’s age with this information.”

Between 2019 and 2023, Goldstein applied for at least seven positions at Raytheon, the lawsuit states. In each case, he allegedly met all the job requirements except that he had not recently graduated from college and had decades of relevant work experience.

The plaintiffs seek a change in Raytheon’s hiring policy, as well as compensation for people who were denied jobs or prevented from applying.

Even the workers

The positions Goldstein applied for ranged in salaries from $53,000 to $103,000 per year. But a position with more junior responsibilities and offering lower salaries should not disqualify older candidates from being considered for the position, Romer-Friedman said.

“It wouldn’t be strange for someone with more experience to hold an entry-level position at a big-name company like Raytheon, where a low-level entry-level position can still pay $103,000,” the lawyer said, adding that it is for job seekers if they are willing to work for lower wages.

“The purpose of the law is to let people make the decision for themselves – not for the employer to assume that you are over 40 so this job will not be attractive to you,” William Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president of litigation at the AARP Foundation, told CBS MoneyWatch.

Discrimination against older workers typically stems from stereotypes that suggest they are not up to date with the latest technologies, do not learn as well or as quickly as younger workers, or are close to retirement, Rivera noted.

“There are a lot of negative stereotypes about aging and, inevitably, about not being as fast, agile or energetic once you reach a certain point, and that point seems to be getting lower and lower,” he said.