WARSAW, Ind. (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a settlement for $100,000 with Seymour Midwest that will resolve allegations that the company engaged in age discrimination.
The Warsaw, Indiana-based hand tool manufacturing company chose Steve Maril from among applications to interview for its senior vice president of sales position. The interview allegedly included a question that asked if Maril was within the ideal 45 to 52 age range for the position. When Seymour Midwest found out Maril was older than 52, it allegedly dropped him from consideration.
The United States’ Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits these types of actions. It disallows any age-based discrimination against those older than 40. The EEOC first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement with Seymour Midwest, but when that failed, it filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
“Seymour Midwest rejected an applicant older than its 'ideal age range' on the assumption he wouldn't be working long enough,” Laurie A. Young, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Indianapolis District Office, said. “Making a decision based on an ageist stereotype is discrimination that will not be tolerated."
The resulting consent decree resolves the suit. Seymour Midwest must pay the necessary monetary relief and stop collecting age information about job applicants before making a job offer.