PRACTICE AREAS

Age Discrimination

Tough, Aggressive and Vigorous Representation

I was looking for a Labor lawyer in the Washington, D.C. metro area. I found Morris E. Fischer. I very much enjoyed working with Morris. He was very professional and showed a genuine interest in my case. Working alongside my union, Morris Fischer, proved himself to be a first rate labor lawyer in Maryland and we were able to negotiate a final settlement that enabled me to put closure on a very difficult episode in my life and move on to my next career endeavor. Morris also promptly returned my phone calls and was always up to date in bringing to me my case's developments.

Lida Skrzypczak, Washington, DC

Age discrimination is one of the largest growing forms of discrimination. Age discrimination has become more prevalent during bad economies. The Age Discrimination and Employment Act protects employees over 40 years old from being unlawfully, terminated, demoted, not selected for promotion or being frozen out of positions to the point where the employee will simply leave without being terminated due to hostile work environments.

A textbook age discrimination case usually has at least some of the following criteria. A highly qualified 55 year old program manager applies for promotion at the suggestion of his supervisor, but loses the promotion to a 36 year old, who lacks critical qualifications and experience for the position. The employer later terminates the 36 year old because he couldn't complete the essential functions of the position. Sound familiar?

During the course of a lawsuit, our firm may learn that the 55 year old was actually the highest ranked candidate with respect to his resume. However, mysteriously, the company argues that the interview round for the promotion demonstrated a number of intangible qualities, such as "high energy" or "enthusiasm" for the position: qualities that are remarkably subjective and create the environment for subtle discrimination.

Our firm recently defeated an employer's Summary Judgment motion, in a case Dimont v. Montgomery County Maryland Government, Civil Action No.: PJM-08-CV-0381, United States District Court, District of Maryland, when an employer simply claimed that the younger candidate, "met the criteria better" and "had the best interview," without explaining the particulars of either. The Court ruled that because the employer did not state with specificity the reasons for the non-selection of the older employee for promotion, that older employee was entitled to a jury trial.

Here is a list of some other common employer ploys for age discrimination:

• Even though that experience wasn't on the younger applicant's resume, he sure talked about it at the interview.
• True, the older employee had more technical experience. However, we were looking to hire a more-well rounded individual for the position; therefore we liked the younger employee's liberal arts degree for a senior level, nuclear science position.
• True, the older employee was more well rounded. However, the younger employee had more technical knowledge and that was critical for this position.
• When we reorganized, your client was overqualified for all the other positions that were more junior in nature. We couldn't have imagined that it would have been in his interest to stay at the company under those circumstances.
• We didn't terminate the older employee. We simply phased out the projects he was working on because we determined they were no longer worthwhile (this is probably the number one way the federal and county governments get rid of older employees).

We provide comprehensive representation in the area of discrimination. Our firm confidently explores and addresses the issues at hand in order to pursue a resolution to the situation as efficiently and effectively as possible. Some of the types of discrimination that are commonly seen in the workplace include the list below, which is made up of protected classifications, in addition to several other discrimination matters.