Raytheon owner RTX faces lawsuit alleging age discrimination in hiring - Phoenix Business Journal
The lawsuit's plaintiff is seeking class-action status. A lawsuit has been filed against Virginia-based RTX Corp., one of Arizona's largest defense contractors, accusing the company of age discrimination. Mark Goldstein, 67, claims he was turned down seven times for jobs advertised as “recent graduate positions” since 2019, despite all other qualifications. The complaint alleges that RTX violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act through a pattern of actions in its hiring process that discriminated against workers 40 years or older. The lawsuit is seeking class-action status and orders to prevent the company from age discrimination, back pay, and unspecified damages. The company, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corp., has 185,000 employees worldwide and employs thousands in Arizona on hundreds of government contracts worth $54.14 billion in fiscal year 2023.
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One of Arizona's largest defense contractors has been accused of discriminating against people 40 and over.
A lawsuit filed against Virginia-based RTX Corp. — whose missile-building operation is based in Tucson — accuses the company of age discrimination.
Attorneys for Mark Goldstein, 67, filed the suit on June 11 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against the aerospace and defense giant (NYSE: RTX). They are seeking class-action status.
The complaint alleges that RTX violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act through a pattern of actions in its hiring process that discriminated against workers who are 40 years or older. A violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act was also alleged.
Goldstein says he was turned down seven times for jobs that were advertised as “recent graduate positions” since 2019, according to his complaint. He met all the other qualifications, per his lawsuit.
“Raytheon makes its preference for younger workers known at the very outset of the hiring process through exclusionary language and eligibility requirements in certain job advertisements,” the complaint states. “Many Raytheon job ads use targeted phrases such as ‘recent college graduate,’ ‘new college graduate,’ ‘new graduate,’ or ‘recent graduate’ in the position’s title and/or job description and qualifications to disqualify older applicants or deter older applicants from applying.”
The company is formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corp. Now, the Raytheon name belongs to its missiles and defense division, which employs thousands of people in Arizona working on hundreds of government contracts that were worth $54.14 billion in fiscal year 2023, according to Business Journal research.
Raytheon also has a foothold in the Phoenix metro and last year opened an engineering design hub at SkySong, The Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center.
Regarding the age discrimination lawsuit, RTX issued a statement to media saying it complies with all laws.
“We believe these claims are entirely without merit and we will actively defend our hiring practices,” an RTX spokesperson said.
The lawsuit comes after Goldstein filed a complaint in 2019 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which investigated and determined RTX was discriminating against him because of his age. He filed a second EEOC complaint in 2023, and the lawsuit says he has exhausted his administrative remedies.
Goldstein declined comment, saying his attorneys are speaking to the press.
William Alvarado Rivera, a senior vice president for litigation at AARP Foundation, who's representing Goldstein, said in a statement to the Business Journals: "Our federal and state laws guarantee that no matter your age, you can apply for a job without fear of discrimination. This is critical as we live longer and healthier lives."
He continued, "Unfortunately, one of the largest government contractors in the country has ripped away job opportunities from too many older candidates.”
The suit is seeking orders to prevent RTX from age discrimination, a monitor to ensure compliance, back pay and unspecified damages for members of they class. They seek a jury trial.
RTX, which posted $69 billion in revenue last year, has 185,000 employees worldwide.
Phoenix Business Journal's Jeff Gifford and Boston Business Journal's Lucia Maffei contributed to this report.
Topik: Lawsuits