Age Discrimination Claim?
Mark M
ma1mck@yahoo.com
5-6-05
RE: Age Discrimination Question
Dear Counselor,
Last week I responded to an ad for a Street Department Worker at a certain village in Ohio that will hire through the Mayor’s office.
Yesterday, I received the application, and I was a bit offended at the questions. As a manager for 17 years for a healthcare facility, I was surprised at some of the questions they are asking me to fill out on the application.
I’m not sure about *Weight *Height and if you would need family or single medical coverage if hired, but I’m sure, unless villages are exempt from EEOC laws, that the “Date of Birth” should not have been included on the application to avoid age discrimination.
I’ve not sent the application back so they’ve not really had a chance to “discriminate” against me, but believe that the question in and of itself is an example of age discrimination, and I‘m not sure if I should even send this back or not, even leaving the space blank.. I’m 44 years young and I know that the recent Supreme Court (?) decision upheld that ADEA from 1967 does include persons 40 years old and over.
Is this a prejudiced question? They also ask for driver license # and state of issue. There is nothing about needing the info for criminal background checks, in fact, there’s not even a question relating to if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony or any other type of illegal act.
Answers (1)
It is unlawful in Ohio to ask questions that elicit information about your age and other protected class status, such as race or national origin. An empployer also may not ask for medical information prior to making an offer. It sounds like this application may break several of these rules.
The most effective way to deliver a wake up call to this village is to send the application to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). The OCRC may require you to file a charge of discrimination to investigate, at which point you have to decide if you want to do that. If you do, the OCRC will investigate and will almost certainly require the village to clean up this application.
posted by Neil Klingshirn | May 6, 2005 11:11 AM [EST]
Answer This Question
Sign In to Answer this Question
Related Questions with Answers
Contact Neil Klingshirn
Neil Klingshirn
AV rated Super Lawyer and Employment Law Specialist
Independence, OH
Phone: 216-382-2500