EEOC Charges Strategic Legal Solutions with Age Discrimination and Retaliation

Company  Rescinds Job Offer After Learning Attorney's Age And Bans Her for Complaining  About Ageism, Federal Agency Says

NEW YORK - Strategic Legal Solutions, a national legal  staffing and legal project management services firm, violated federal law when  it rejected a 70-year-old attorney when it discovered her age and told her it  would never hire her after she questioned if the rejection was because of her  age, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit  it filed today.

According to the EEOC's suit, Strategic Legal Solutions  offered a New York-based attorney temporary work on a project in Michigan. The attorney accepted, and then Strategic  Legal Solutions asked for her date of birth.  Within 90 minutes of receiving the attorney's date of birth, the company  called to withdraw the offer, alleging she could not possibly arrive at the  worksite in time to begin work on the next day.  The attorney questioned whether the real reason the company suddenly  withdrew its offer was because of her age.  In response, the company told her she would be placed on a "do not use"  list and she need not apply for future work assignments with Strategic Legal  Solutions.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits  age-based discrimination against employees or applicants who are 40 years of  age or older. The ADEA also prohibits an  employer from retaliating against an employee or applicant who complains about  age discrimination. The EEOC filed suit  (EEOC v. Strategic Legal Resources, Inc.,  d/b/a Strategic Legal Solutions, U.S. District Court for the Southern  District of New York, Case No. 14-CV-7762)  after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its  conciliation process.

The EEOC's suit seeks monetary relief for the discrimination  victim as well as court injunctions intended to educate the company about its  obligations under the ADEA, remedy past discrimination and retaliation, and  prevent future ADEA violations.

Robert D. Rose, regional attorney for the EEOC's New York  District, pointed out that last year, 22.8% of all complaints filed with the  EEOC nationwide included an allegation of age discrimination, and 41.1%  included an allegation of retaliation.

"It is time to send a clear message to employers: Neither age discrimination nor retaliation  for making a discrimination complaint will be tolerated," said Rose.

Kirsten Peters, the EEOC trial attorney assigned to the  case, said, "More and more Americans are working past the age of 65, and they  have a right to do so free of ageism."

Eliminating policies and practices that discourage or prohibit  individuals from exercising their rights under employment discrimination  statutes, or that impede the EEOC's investigative or enforcement efforts, is  one of six national priorities identified by the Commission's Strategic  Enforcement Plan (SEP).  Eradicating  discriminatory hiring practices is another national priority under the SEP.

The New York District Office of the EEOC oversees New York,  Northern New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New  Hampshire and Maine.

The EEOC is the federal government agency responsible for  enforcing federal antidiscrimination laws in the workplace. Further information about the EEOC is  available on the agency's website at www.eeoc.gov.