Gibson Foods, Inc. and Thompson Foods, Inc. have merged to form a new corporation, Better Food, Inc. In the process of consolidating the business, management decides that a reduction in force is necessary to avoid duplication of positions and generally streamline the running of the new company, thereby lowering the operating costs. Paul is a production manager and his job is eliminated. He is 51 years old and believes that he was targeted because of his age.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Better Food can defend against the claim of age discrimination if they can provide a reasonable factor other than age for Paul's termination. The company must be able to show that the decision to terminate Paul was based on legitimate business reasons, such as redundancy or performance issues. However, if Paul can prove that age was the determining factor in his termination, even if other factors were also considered, Better Food could still be found liable for age discrimination. Retaining younger employees would not automatically make the company liable for age discrimination. Signing a waiver would not prevent Paul from filing a claim with the EEOC, as waivers of this kind are not enforceable under the ADEA. Finally, a RIF is not exempt from ADEA protection, as age cannot be used as the sole basis for selecting employees for termination in a RIF.