Asking the wrong questions — Employer faces lawsuit for inquiring about plaintiff’s retirement

Description

Abstract: When a 54-year-old U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee was passed over for promotion in favor of a younger employee, he sued. As this article explains, at issue was whether an agency personnel spreadsheet known as the Capable Workforce Matrix served as a pretext for age discrimination. Because, after receiving the job applications, two hiring panel members had allegedly requested information about projected retirement dates to be incorporated into the matrix, the appeals court sided with the plaintiff. A sidebar notes a different case in which a stray remark also led to age discrimination allegations, but with a different result. Citation: Shelley v. Geren, No. 10-35014, Jan. 12, 2012 (9th Cir.); Gross v. FBL Financial Services, No. 08-441, June 18, 2009 (Supreme Court); Moss v. BMC Software, Inc., No. 09-20488, July 2, 2010 (5th Cir.)