According to Forbes, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only protects current employees and does not cover external applicants. The case stems from a lawsuit wherein a 58 year old attorney was seeking a job with a medical supply company's legal department. The company was seeking to hire an individual with three to seven years of relevant legal experience but no more than seven years. Despite having more than seven years experience, the individual applied and was not hired. Instead, the company hired a 29 year old with much less experience.

The individual argued that the seven year experience cap was discriminatory by nature and in violation of federal law. The appeals court disagreed and in "an 8-4 decision, the majority contended that the statute was meant to protect employees within the company from being denied employment opportunities due to age, not applicants seeking employment."

Written by:   Alexandra Siskopoulos, Esq.

Telephone:   (646) 942-1798

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