The charitable group affiliated with AARP on Tuesday filed a lawsuit alleging RTX [RTX] discriminated against older workers in hiring.
The AARP Foundation claims RTX’s hiring practices “exclusively” targeted recent or new college graduates over potentially qualified older workers. The 59-page lawsuit says this hiring practice “intentionally and effectively excludes nearly all older workers from qualifying for, competing for, and obtaining many jobs at Raytheon,” adding that the company “routinely publishes job postings for numerous jobs where the only basic qualification is being a recent college graduate and where Raytheon unlawfully indicates a preference for younger workers and discrimination against older workers and deters older workers from applying.”
AARP is focused on the interests of people older than 50. The group alleges RTX violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act, and the Virginia Human Rights Act. The lawsuit “seeks relieve for older workers denied or deterred from job opportunities since 2018,” the foundation said.
“Americans are living and working longer than ever, yet unfair and discriminatory hiring practices are keeping older workers from jobs they’re qualified for,” William Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president for litigation at the AARP Foundation, said in a statement. “Raytheon’s intentional discrimination against experienced job candidates, simply because of their age, is illegal and unacceptable.”
The class action complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston.
In statement provided by RTX, the company said it “complies with all relevant age discrimination laws and we’re committed to maintaining a diverse workforce. We believe these claims are entirely without merit and we will actively defend our hiring practices.”