PricewaterhouseCoopers hires 'stunningly low' number of people over 40, says age-discrimination suit
PricewaterhouseCoopers logo.
The AARP Foundation joined forces with two law firms to pursue a proposed class-action age-discrimination lawsuit against PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, the suit contends the accounting giant structures its hiring practices to avoid even considering many older applicants, with the result that it has a “stunningly low” number of workers age 40 and over, according to the Recorder (sub. req.) and Reuters.
“PwC’s culture and practice has distributed the benefits of its enormous success unequally—systematically favoring younger applicants at the expense of their older counterparts,” the complaint alleges.
A focus on recruiting applicants at college campuses is reportedly one of the practices at issue in the case, as well as a mandatory retirement age of 60. Both allegedly discourage older applicants from applying.
The lead plaintiff in the suit is Steve Rabin, a 53-year-old certified public accountant who says he was turned down as a job applicant in the San Jose office of PwC in 2013, and a younger individual was hired.
He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and a change in PwC’s policies.
A company spokeswoman, Caroline Nolan, told the Recorder in an email that the suit is without merit.
“The claim is false. PwC’s hiring practices offer equal opportunity to all applicants, and the firm devotes enormous resources to recruiting a diverse workforce,” she wrote. “Like most employers, PwC recruits at the nation’s colleges and universities and the firm hires individuals at all experience levels and across the age spectrum.”
Related coverage:
CCH Daily: “PwC’s US firm faces age discrimination claim”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Focus on hiring recent grads creates basis for age-discrimination suit, 11th Circuit says”
