Employment question:
I am fifty years old. I was recently turned down for a job after an interview in which the company seemed to want someone younger than me. Is that allowed?
Responses:
Good Lawyer Guide's response
It can be age discrimination to unreasonably treat an older person less fairly than a younger person (or to treat a younger person less fairly than an older person). These age discrimination laws apply to job interviews.
One case that might be relevant to you, involved an ad for a sales rep, with the ad saying the person had to have ‘youthful enthusiasm’. That, of itself, was probably not enough to amount to age discrimination. But, in that case the actual interview focussed on youth questions (for instance, the older applicant was asked about his motivation, enthusiasm, drive, and energy), whilst those points were not put to younger job applicants. On that basis, it was held that it was age discrimination when he did not get the job.
So, based on that case, you may have a claim for age discrimination – it all depends on what the job ad said, and the questions you were asked.
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