Sherrod Alexander is excited about his employment prospects. Via a job posting s

Question

Sherrod Alexander is excited about his employment prospects. Via a job posting site, he found a human resource management position at a local home improvement store, Residence Repository USA, Inc. With a master's of business administration (MBA) degree from the University of Florida and six years of experience in human resources with progressive advancement, Alexander believes he is the ideal candidate for the job. He is proud of his career accomplishments thus far, particularly in light of the fact that he is only 29 years old.

Alexander reports to Residence Repository for his job interview, which is led by one of the company's lead recruiters, Nigel Hammond. Alexander believes he performs well during the interview, outlining the many ways he would add value to the company. He is troubled, however, by Hammond's closing statement: "Sherrod, I am impressed with your credentials. I am a huge Gators fan, and I really believe your work experience is excellent, but to be honest, we are looking for an older person to fill this position. This role involves direct supervision of 12 employees with an average age of around 35, and we believe a supervisor in his early- to mid-40s would receive quite a bit more respect. I'm sorry, son, but you're just too darn young for this job."

Residence Repository does not hire Alexander for the position; instead, the company hires a 43-year-old person with less formal education (a four-year business degree from a small college in upstate New York) and human resource-related work experience (five years) than Alexander.

Alexander believes he is the victim of age discrimination. He feels he has a viable claim against Residence Repository, Inc. for refusing to hire him for the position. Advise Alexander on the likelihood of winning such a lawsuit.

Explanation / Answer

This is a typical case of Employment discrimination which can be seen as a form of discrimination depending on race, gender, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity by employers.

As in the case, it is provided hat Alexander is possessing a good educational background having an MBA degree from University of Florida and six years of experience in human resources with progressive advancement. All this was accomplished at the young age of 29 years.

If we compare the employee against Alexander, then the selected employee has a less formal education (a four-year business degree from a small college in upstate New York) and human resource-related work experience (five years) than Alexander.

The only thing which favored the selected employee seems to be his age which is 43 years. This discrimination can further be seen when the interviewer expressed his opinion about the young age of Alexander.

Thus the employment decision was not based on the experience or educational background but on the basis of age which is a clear case of age discrimination in employment.

Thus the chances of Alexander to win against the employer is quite high.

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