Florida man accuses Apple store of age discrimination

Florida man accuses Apple store of age discrimination
AppleInsider | Florida man accuses Apple store of age discrimination

A Florida man in his 60s has sued Apple, alleging that he was denied promotions when he worked at the company's retail store because of his age.

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Yes all companies do this sort of thing. And it's about time someone stood up to them. Well done to this bloke I say.
Whether the bloke actually deserved the promotion I dunno. But at least he's trying to say "I'm the best man for the job".

Agree with the8thark. I'm all for choosing employees and making promotions based on qualifications/experience. Age, color, gender, etc. DOES NOT matter. Now, whether or not the guy could actually perform the job duties... I don't know. But that should really be the only deciding factor in this case. Is he qualified? Yes or no. That's it.

Meh. This is how life works it seems. Fair? No. Reality? Yep. Proof yet again you can't legislate morals into people. Not promoting a guy based on a mature age is as stupid as admitting someone to college to fill a quota.

jillianlee said:

It hurts to admit but this is a common problem to several establishments, most often physical appearance is the reason for discrimination, why don't they just give every people an equal rights to be hired o they should based the hiring or promoting privileges on the employees performance.

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Agreed. It really stinks to hear that this is still persistent in this day and age, but for anyone to deny that it really happens is a little naive.

To play devil's advocate, how do we know the guy just didn't suck at his job and that's why he wasn't promoted instead of his age?

I've seen quite a few people claim "fill in the blank" discrimination when really they just didn't deserve it.

I agree schweb. But I believe there should be strong valid reasons from Apple or from the man to state their case. Like if you are not promoting someone for a long time, they should tell the man exactly why this is so. I'm not saying Apple is discriminating. But because so many companies do discriminate, they have to give a BS reason to avoid being sued.

It's a fine line. One side cries discrimination. And the other cries he was just not the best employee for the promotion. Now which side is telling the truth? It's vey hard to tell.

Hmm... I don't know the guy at my Apple Store who sold me my iPad, Had to be well into his late 50's early 60's. I will admit Apple store employees tend to be younger, But it's one **** of a diverse work environment. One of the girls in my store probably has 60% of her body tattooed. so I dunno I'm with Schweb maybe the guy just didn't make the cut.

the8thark said:

I agree schweb. But I believe there should be strong valid reasons from Apple or from the man to state their case.

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Apple doesn't have to prove anything. In the US it's innocent until proven guilty, so it's up to the man to prove Apple's discrimination with actual facts.

schweb said:

Apple doesn't have to prove anything. In the US it's innocent until proven guilty, so it's up to the man to prove Apple's discrimination with actual facts.

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It depends, certain cases it depends on who is at fault more. He could be at fault, but if Apple was more at fault, they are liable. And the EEOC has ruled that Apple did age discriminate. So yes, he in fact was wronged if you read the story all the way. Not once did it say he was a bad employee. He was probably terminated because he was making too much of a ruckus of not getting the position he wanted multiple times.

ripper998 said:

And the EEOC has ruled that Apple did age discriminate.

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Provide a link for a little evidence of this please.

The findings are contested. Both the Mr. Katz and Apple have stated they believe the findings ruled in their favor. Of course, the findings letter is not publicly available at the moment so it's really pointless to draw conjecture one way or another regarding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's findings into the discussion.

Age Discrimination at Apple Stores? Suit Says Yes | San Diego Employment Law Attorney Blog

schweb said:

To play devil's advocate, how do we know the guy just didn't suck at his job and that's why he wasn't promoted instead of his age?

I've seen quite a few people claim "fill in the blank" discrimination when really they just didn't deserve it.

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Most of the time, they just didn't deserve it....

question: If a man... say, in his early 60's is not able to perform his duties (convincing sales as fast as the younger guys), but has been working for the company for more than 10 years... would it be age discrimination if you don't promote him because he is older and can't perform like the young ones do?

MYmacROX said:

Agree with the8thark. I'm all for choosing employees and making promotions based on qualifications/experience. Age, color, gender, etc. DOES NOT matter. Now, whether or not the guy could actually perform the job duties... I don't know. But that should really be the only deciding factor in this case. Is he qualified? Yes or no. That's it.

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i must agree that the basis for promotion, or hiring should be based on qualifications, and not something else. however, it would also be a big factor if you can effectively work with someone comfortably.

another question: How do you define/differentiate discrimination from reality or prerogative when you believe that hiring a young woman is more effective than hiring an older woman as a demonstrator?

the8thark said:

I agree schweb. But I believe there should be strong valid reasons from Apple or from the man to state their case. Like if you are not promoting someone for a long time, they should tell the man exactly why this is so. I'm not saying Apple is discriminating. But because so many companies do discriminate, they have to give a BS reason to avoid being sued.

It's a fine line. One side cries discrimination. And the other cries he was just not the best employee for the promotion. Now which side is telling the truth? It's vey hard to tell.

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IMHO... in the US, there will always be suites from one person to another. whether it has legal basis or logical ones, there will always be a big possibility for a case to progress even if it was baseless or just plain stupid. perfect example... someone suing philip morris because he smoked his entire life and got lung cancer... and then the guy who became obese from eating tons of mc donald's food and yet end up being obese. crazy!hehehehe;P