AARP Foundation Sues Raytheon for Discriminating Against Older Workers in Hiring

Mark H. Goldstein, 67, knew there was little chance he would be hired for the job of “Cyber Defense Technologist II” at Raytheon when he applied in May 2019. He met many of the qualifications the job posting required. He has a master’s degree in business administration, has previously had a security clearance and has a professional certification in cybersecurity.

There was, however, one qualification in the posting he couldn’t meet: He was not “currently enrolled or a recent graduate (within 18 months)” of a graduate school program.

Goldstein wasn’t hired for that position or other roles he applied for at Raytheon, but now he’ll have an opportunity to make a case for himself and other experienced applicants who have been rejected for Raytheon jobs due to their age. AARP Foundation Litigation (AFL), working with Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC and Outten & Golden LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against Raytheon, which is now known as RTX Corporation. The lawsuit alleges that Raytheon, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies, has refused to hire workers for many positions unless the applicants are recent graduates of college or graduate school. That requirement has prevented Goldstein and many older applicants from competing or getting hired for those jobs.

“It’s disappointing and upsetting that major American companies are refusing to consider older workers like me for excellent positions because we aren’t recent graduates,” says Goldstein. “All workers, regardless of their age, should have an equal opportunity to compete for jobs at Raytheon and everywhere else.”

EEOC previously found that Raytheon violated older workers’ rights

According to the complaint filed this week in a federal court in Boston, many Raytheon job ads have used phrases such as “new college graduate,” “recent graduate,” or “new graduate” in position titles or job descriptions. Other postings required that applicants with a college or graduate degree have less than 12 or 24 months of work experience.

AFL and its co-counsel say in their complaint that the language of the postings and the 24-month maximum violate several age discrimination laws, including the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and there is evidence to support their argument. In a 2021 complaint Goldstein filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency found that Raytheon’s recent college graduate hiring practices violated the ADEA, citing regulatory guidance that states, “When help wanted notices or advertisements contain any terms and phrases such as ‘age 25 to 35,’ ‘young,’ ‘college student,’ ‘recent college graduate’ ... or others of a similar nature, such a term or phrase deters the employment of older persons and is a violation of the [ADEA].”

Raytheon continued to focus its recruitment on recent graduates after the EEOC finding, the new lawsuit states.