Employer to pay $40K for rescinding job offers to two women in their 70s

An Atlanta organization that provides employment opportunities for disabled individuals will pay $40,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in which it was charged with withdrawing two job offers once it learned applicants' ages.

The EEOC said two women, each more than 70 years old, applied for a shared mail clerk position with the Bobby Dodd Institute Inc., and were extended job offers.

But the agency charged the job offers were revoked the day before their scheduled start date, after the institute's CEO learned of the women's ages. The institute hired two younger individuals to fill the position shortly afterward, the EEOC said.

The agency charged the institute with violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. In addition to the monetary settlement, the consent decree settling the suit includes provisions for equal employment opportunity reporting, and posting of antidiscrimination notices.

“The workforce includes many people who suffer discrimination because of their age, and the EEOC is committed to debunking discriminatory stereotypes that affect older workers,” said Robert Dawkins, regional attorney for the EEOC's Atlanta District Office, in a statement. “These rejected applicants were prepared to provide a positive contribution to the employer's operation but never got the opportunity.”

The institute has denied any liability or wrongdoing. Its attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Earlier this year, a medical device and equipment manufacturer was sued by the EEOC for allegedly refusing to hire women and older job applicants and retaliating against its former human resources manager for reporting the discrimination to federal officials.