Employment Law for Business 6th Edition by Dawn Bennett Alexander ,Laura Hartman

Exercise 9

In 2000, Rose Flanagan, 55 years old, was transferred out of the department of the predominantly Latino Lawrence High School, where she had worked for 33 years, because of a reorganization. When a position again became available in that department, she applied for it and was among three finalists. All the search committee members except one rated Rose the highest. The other candidate receiving a vote-and eventually the job-was a 28-year-old individual who spoke Spanish fluently, though fluency was not listed in the job description. Rose was told that she was not chosen because they were looking for people who were "energetic" and "flexible." A year later, the exact same situation occurred and, again, Rose was denied the transfer when a younger individual with Spanish fluency was given the position. Again, Spanish fluency was not listed in the job description. Does Rose have a sufficient basis on which to state a claim for age discrimination?