- The federal class action lawsuit accuses RTX of rejecting job applicants because of their age.
- The lawsuit comes amid research showing signs that age discrimination persists in the U.S. workforce.
- The lawsuit accuses RTX of engaging in age discrimination since at least October 2018.
A federal class action lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the world’s largest aerospace and defense company of rejecting job applicants because of their age.
Mark Goldstein, 67, accused RTX Corp. (formerly Raytheon Technologies) of discriminating against older applicants by only recruiting recent college graduates or those with two years or less of relevant work experience.
The lawsuit comes amid signs that age discrimination persists in the United States, even as older people make up a growing proportion of the workforce.
“Age discrimination, unlike other forms of discrimination, has become commonplace in the workplace in recent years,” said Peter Romer Friedman, co-counsel on the case. “Whether it’s comments in the workplace or people seeking employment in an age discriminatory manner, it appears that older people are now at a disadvantage.”
“Many misconceptions” about older workers
About 20% of Americans over 65 are employed, nearly double the percentage 35 years ago, according to data released in December by the Pew Research Center.
But just because there are more older workers doesn’t mean employers are welcoming them.
A 2023 AARP survey of nearly 1,500 people in the workforce age 50 and older found that nearly one in six said they had been rejected for a job they applied for within the past two years because of their age, and two-thirds believe older workers face age discrimination in the workplace.
According to Bill Rivera, AARP senior vice president for litigation and co-counsel in the case, much of this discrimination stems from negative stereotypes and misconceptions about older workers.
“There are many misconceptions about older adults’ knowledge and experience with technology, and their ability to learn and adapt,” Rivera told USA Today. “For example, the old adage, ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,’ reflects many of the ideas about the capabilities of older adults.”
Biden. The Rolling Stones. Harrison Ford.Why older workers are opposed to retirement
According to a 2019 report from ZipRecruiter, 45% of employers surveyed expressed concern that older workers might lack necessary tech skills, and 25% said they would choose a 30-year-old candidate over a 60-year-old if both were equally qualified.
These concerns are hitting older workers hard when they’re looking for work: 27% of job seekers age 55 and older were long-term unemployed as of May, compared with 20% of those ages 16 to 54, according to AARP.
Allegations of employment practices that harm older workers
The lawsuit accuses RTX of engaging in age discrimination since at least October 2018 with a hiring pattern that “disqualifies, rejects, discourages and harms” older workers.
For example, various job advertisements describe the jobs as great opportunities for college seniors or recent graduates, or require applicants to have up to two years of relevant experience. The lawsuit alleges that older applicants are “screened out” based on the year they graduated from college.
Goldstein said he applied for at least seven RTX positions designated for new graduates between 2019 and 2023. Despite nearly 40 years of experience, a willingness to relocate and RTX’s ongoing labor shortages, none of the positions he applied for led to an interview.
Goldstein filed a discrimination lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2019, and the commission found that RTX’s hiring practices violated the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The commission said Goldstein was denied employment opportunities “because of her age, not because she did not meet the minimum qualifications for the position.”
RTX spokesman Chris Johnson said the company believes the allegations are unfounded and will continue to defend its hiring practices.
“RTX complies with all relevant laws regarding age discrimination and is committed to maintaining a diverse workforce,” Johnson said in an emailed statement.
In its final decision, the EEOC noted that the company argued that if Goldstein had a “real and present” interest in working for the company, he would have applied for another position rather than an entry-level position for recent graduates.
According to the EEOC’s decision attached to the lawsuit, the company said Goldstein “had not demonstrated that he was qualified for any of the positions for which he applied.”. “His overall excess years of experience is a valid reason not to hire him and is not discriminatory.”
Goldstein’s lawyers argue that he applied for a low-level job “to reboot his career” and that RTX had no reason to consider only recent graduates for a job that allegedly paid a six-figure salary.
“These are good jobs,” Romer Friedman said, “and these aren’t jobs that pay $20,000, $30,000 a year. … These can be perfectly good jobs that pay a livable wage and provide career advancement (for older candidates).”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges nine counts of misconduct and seeks to require the company to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees, eradicate the effects of the allegedly unlawful employment practices, and pay damages to the plaintiffs and class members.
