5 ms·

So who has standing to sue? How can I prove I /didn't/ see a job posting because I'm too old, and what damages could I claim as a result of it?

by lph 8y ago

frankydp 8y ago
It would be difficult to sue for not being the recipient of an advertisement. While it may feel off it is most likely not illegal, because it is an ad and not part of the hiring process. In the same way that the big bech 4 host hackathons(ie recruiting events) at colleges and not retirement communities or really anywhere other than places where the highest population of the target demographic congregates.
- bobthepanda 8y ago
  But old people can be at college. That's the material difference; campus police are not going around blocking old peoples' view of advertisements. To provide a counterpoint, you can't legally advertise the fact that there are no blacks in your housing development, however true that may be. In fact, there are many types of dogwhistling that are also banned when it comes to advertisement of housing.
- flashman 8y ago
  > it is an ad and not part of the hiring process. If you were a qualified but rejected applicant, this ad targeting could demonstrate a pattern of behavior when you sued the employer for discrimination.
paulddraper 8y ago
There are no grounds to sue. In the US, companies cannot discriminate against 40+ ages for hiring. But that in no way applies to advertisement. If Facebook puts a job ad billboard in Seattle (mostly white), but not in Atlanta (mostly black), there's no illegal discrimination. And for good reason: Marketing is always about reaching the most likely targets.
- developer2 8y ago
  It could be argued that actively filtering a job advertisement to be shown to younger people only is similar enough to allowing the ad to be seen by all ages, and then filtering out older applicants when they inquire about the ad. You're just moving the "age filter" to a different step of the process. Another scenario: company creates company-jobs.com, which contains all their job postings. The homepage requires you to select your age range before accessing the listings, and only choosing "18-30" results in them being displayed. You're acquiring the individual's age range in advance - exactly the way an ad network does - in order to decide whether job listings should be displayed to a person belonging to that age group. Direct analogy: the ad network is operating as a recruiter for the company. Recruiters are not allowed to discriminate based on age. End of story.
- fjsolwmv 8y ago
  This is not the case in USA, under the legal theory of "disparate impact". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disparate_impact https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disparate_impact
  - paulddraper 8y ago
    That does not apply to advertising. It could apply to say, requiring candidates to provide credit scores which disadvantages a protected class.
- lightedman 8y ago
  "In the US, companies cannot discriminate against 40+ ages for hiring. But that in no way applies to advertisement." Not true. JobRivet got nailed for this (specifically deleting profiles of all people over 30 - including mine, limiting dates you can fill in on forms, specifically advertising jobs for young people thus discriminating against the protected 40+ class, etc.) and was shut down/bought out by Laborocity.
- peteretep 8y ago
  > But that in no way applies to advertisement Are you sure that's true? Quite a few job-boards exist purely so large companies can show they've explicitly attempted to target veterans and so on.
salawat 8y ago
Well... Try remaking your facebook profile with one difference.... Date of Birth. See what happens.
- sharkweek 8y ago
  About five years ago I started spamming my Facebook profile with noise (odd interests, fake political beliefs, hometown, birthday etc) I do get a ton of hilariously bad ads.
ChuckMcM 8y ago
All you could do is to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB - www.nlrb.gov) that you are qualified for a job that has been specifically targeted for someone who is 'younger'. They will investigate the charge, and if they find it has merit they can sanction the company placing the ad. I don't think Facebook is at risk here for facilitating but that is for a lawyer (of which I am not one) to decide.

So who has standing to sue? How can I prove I /didn't/ see a job posting because I'm too old, and what damages could I claim as a result of it?

by lph 8y ago

So who has standing to sue? How can I prove I /didn't/ see a job posting because I'm too old, and what damages could I claim as a result of it?

frankydp 8y ago

It would be difficult to sue for not being the recipient of an advertisement. While it may feel off it is most likely not illegal, because it is an ad and not part of the hiring process. In the same way that the big bech 4 host hackathons(ie recruiting events) at colleges and not retirement communities or really anywhere other than places where the highest population of the target demographic congregates.

bobthepanda 8y ago
But old people can be at college. That's the material difference; campus police are not going around blocking old peoples' view of advertisements. To provide a counterpoint, you can't legally advertise the fact that there are no blacks in your housing development, however true that may be. In fact, there are many types of dogwhistling that are also banned when it comes to advertisement of housing.
flashman 8y ago
> it is an ad and not part of the hiring process. If you were a qualified but rejected applicant, this ad targeting could demonstrate a pattern of behavior when you sued the employer for discrimination.

paulddraper 8y ago

There are no grounds to sue. In the US, companies cannot discriminate against 40+ ages for hiring. But that in no way applies to advertisement. If Facebook puts a job ad billboard in Seattle (mostly white), but not in Atlanta (mostly black), there's no illegal discrimination. And for good reason: Marketing is always about reaching the most likely targets.

developer2 8y ago
It could be argued that actively filtering a job advertisement to be shown to younger people only is similar enough to allowing the ad to be seen by all ages, and then filtering out older applicants when they inquire about the ad. You're just moving the "age filter" to a different step of the process. Another scenario: company creates company-jobs.com, which contains all their job postings. The homepage requires you to select your age range before accessing the listings, and only choosing "18-30" results in them being displayed. You're acquiring the individual's age range in advance - exactly the way an ad network does - in order to decide whether job listings should be displayed to a person belonging to that age group. Direct analogy: the ad network is operating as a recruiter for the company. Recruiters are not allowed to discriminate based on age. End of story.
fjsolwmv 8y ago
This is not the case in USA, under the legal theory of "disparate impact". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disparate_impact https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disparate_impact
- paulddraper 8y ago
  That does not apply to advertising. It could apply to say, requiring candidates to provide credit scores which disadvantages a protected class.
lightedman 8y ago
"In the US, companies cannot discriminate against 40+ ages for hiring. But that in no way applies to advertisement." Not true. JobRivet got nailed for this (specifically deleting profiles of all people over 30 - including mine, limiting dates you can fill in on forms, specifically advertising jobs for young people thus discriminating against the protected 40+ class, etc.) and was shut down/bought out by Laborocity.
peteretep 8y ago
> But that in no way applies to advertisement Are you sure that's true? Quite a few job-boards exist purely so large companies can show they've explicitly attempted to target veterans and so on.

salawat 8y ago

Well... Try remaking your facebook profile with one difference.... Date of Birth. See what happens.

sharkweek 8y ago
About five years ago I started spamming my Facebook profile with noise (odd interests, fake political beliefs, hometown, birthday etc) I do get a ton of hilariously bad ads.

ChuckMcM 8y ago

All you could do is to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB - www.nlrb.gov) that you are qualified for a job that has been specifically targeted for someone who is 'younger'. They will investigate the charge, and if they find it has merit they can sanction the company placing the ad. I don't think Facebook is at risk here for facilitating but that is for a lawyer (of which I am not one) to decide.