Age Discrimination Class-Action Suit Launched against Spirit AeroSystems
Twenty four former Spirit AeroSystems employees are currently part of a class-action suit accusing their previous employer of age discrimination.
A “reduction in force” (RIF) on July 25, 2013 caused 360 employees to lose their jobs. More than 200 of these employees were over the age of 40.
Medical Issues Also a Factor
Age discrimination is only a part of the allegations being made against Spirit. Several weeks before the RIF, Spirit had chosen to become self-insured. A large number of the individuals who were laid off during the RIF had costly medical conditions or were at risk for costly medical conditions.
Troubles Starting Over in a New Career
Discriminating against someone because of their age is one of the most devastating types of discrimination, as older individuals do not have as many opportunities or as much time to start over and begin a brand new career. The individuals who were laid off by Spirit in this case were planning to eventually retire from Spirit, but now they have been left scrambling to find jobs so that they can hopefully retire in comfort.
California law prohibits age discrimination, but that does not mean that it does not exist. Patrick Button from Tulane University, as well as Ian Burn and David Neumark from the University of California at Irvine, designed a field experiment to try and show just how widespread age discrimination is – especially for those who are nearing or who are past retirement age.
Over 40,000 job applications for a variety of industries were sent out by the researchers, who produced fictitious resumes which were similar in all areas but one: the age of the worker.
- Resumes with workers 29 to 31 years of age received the most callbacks
- Resumes with workers 49 to 51 years of age received the second most callbacks
- Resumes with workers 64 to 66 years of age received almost half as many callbacks as those in the 29 to 31 age group
Have You Been The Subject of Age Discrimination?
The Los Angeles employment attorneys at Broslavsky & Weinman, LLP are dedicated to protecting employees against discrimination and will pursue all available legal remedies to ensure that you are compensated for your losses.
If you have been fired, demoted, or offered inferior pay and benefits because of your age, our Los Angeles age discrimination attorneys at Broslavsky & Weinman can help. To arrange for a free confidential consultation, we welcome you to call (310) 575-2550.
