Tag: age discrimination

Seventh Circuit Finds that Stray References to Age During Interview Was Not Discrimination The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that an interviewer's references to a 56-year-old applicant's age were insufficient to show that the choice not to hire him was due to age discrimination. This case began in 2017 when an Indiana university listed an opening for a head baseball coach. The job posting indicated that the position would be responsible for overseeing recruitment, enhancing the academic success of student-athletes, managing the program's budget, fundraising, coaching, scheduling, strategizing, and managing the team itself. The university created a hiring committee composed of eight members, which received a total of 94 applications. The committee performed phone interviews of 11 of these applications, and the plaintiff was one of these. Another one of the applicants selected for a phone interview was 31 years old and a former associate of one of the hiring committee members. When four committee members interviewed the plaintiff over the phone, they noted that they were not impressed. However, when the 31-year-old applicant was interviewed by phone, the hiring committee was highly impressed. When the phone interviews were completed, the committee met and agreed unanimously not to proceed to an in-person interview with the plaintiff. The committee instead conducted in-person interviews with five other applicants, including the 31-year-old applicant who was eventually recommended and hired by the committee. The plaintiff sued the university as well as the head of the hiring committee and one separate member for age discrimination. The plaintiff argued that testimony from one committee member spoke to suggesting that he was excited about hiring the 31-year old applicant because he is a "younger guy and would be a better ﬁt for the kids," plus a note taken during the phone interview by one of the committee members stating that the plaintiff was "Looking for a retirement job" was evidence that the committee's decision was weighed in part by his age. The district court did not agree and granted summary judgment to the defendants. The plaintiff appealed this decision to the Seventh Circuit, arguing that the lower court had impermissibly weighed the two pieces of evidence. For the first piece of evidence, the appeals court found that the lower court was correct in finding that the committee members commented about hiring a younger guy. However, the Seventh Circuit agreed that this was simply a description of the candidate and, at most, a stray comment made by an individual who was not the only one responsible for the hiring decision. Considering the second piece of evidence, the court concluded that the plaintiff's assertion that the committee member's notes were evidence that age was involved in the committee's decision was speculative. Furthermore, no evidence was presented that other committee members were ever aware of the member's notes and other notes the member took clearly indicated that the plaintiff had not performed well during the interview. As a result, the court found no evidence of age-based animus in the committee's hiring decision. Thus, the Seventh Circuit upheld the district court's summary judgment ruling for the defendants. Employer Takeaways Though this ruling shows that simple remarks and identifying characteristics may not be enough to establish discrimination, it would be wise for employers to ensure that hiring personnel are aware of protected characteristics and avoid making references to them. This can avoid accusations of discrimination in hiring decisions and needless litigation. Stay updated on all the new rules of compliance with Pre-employs free news resources on employment eligibility. Contact a Sales Rep today for more information.

Tag: age discrimination

Seventh Circuit Finds that Stray References to Age During Interview Was Not Discrimination

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