1. Mary, 61 years old, worked as a leasing consultant for a realty company for over two years before she was fired. The primary duty of a leasing consultant is to rent apartments. The company used phone and video evaluations to assess employees’ performance. During her employment, Mary’s scores allegedly were, with one exception, consistently below expectations. Allegedly, she violated company policies by showing an apartment without getting the prospective tenant’s proof of identification, holding an apartment without a deposit, and showing an apartment not to be shown. Mary, who allegedly had been warned and placed on probation, claimed that during the termination meeting, her supervisor made age- related comments, as she had on several prior occasions. Mary sued her former employer for discrimination under the ADEA. Decide. Explain.
2. The Insurance Company of North America (ICNA) sought to hire a “loss control representative.” The ad called for a B.S. degree, two years of experience, and other qualities.
The plaintiff, who had 30 years of loss control experience, applied for the job but was not interviewed,. ICNA hired a 28-year-old woman with no loss control experience. The plaintiff sued claiming age discrimination. ICNA said the plaintiff was overqualified.
a. Explain both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s arguments.
b. Decide the case. Explain.