Answered

Bob has worked for Company X for the past 12 years as a supervisor in the mailroom. He has 5 "communication distribution representatives (CDRs)" working for him. Bob is 58 years old and the CDRs are all in their 20's and 30's. He was recently notified that his department is being outsourced and his and the other mailroom positions will be eliminated by the end of the month. During this "notification period" impacted employees (including Bob) could apply for any internal positions open in the company. Company X had 2 customer service representatives (CDRs) open during the notification period. Although this would be considered a demotion, Bob decided to apply for the job in an effort to stay at the company. Out of the 5 CDRs, 3 decided to apply for the CSR positions as well. All internal candidates were interviewed and both positions were filled by the former CDR employees. Bob was very upset about this and demanded to know why he wasn't hired. The response provided to him by Matt Jones, the hiring manager, was that he lacked the technical skills needed for the position. Bob stated that technical skills were not listed in the job description and met all of the qualifications and requirements listed. Matt's response was that the job descriptions were written before the new automation system was implemented and this was a new requirement for all CSR positions. Bob was not satisfied with this answer and suspected that he might be a victim of age discrimination.
Post a position statement regarding whether or not Bob has been discriminated against on the basis of age (and why or why not) to