(NewsNation) — The AARP filed a class-action federal lawsuit Tuesday against major government defense contractor RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon Technologies, accusing the company of discriminating against older job candidates while hiring.
The complaint alleges RTX’s job advertisements have historically used language targeting new college graduates, which the AARP says shows a preference for younger hires.
“Other positions have required that applicants with a college or graduate degree have less than 12 or 24 months of work experience, or have graduated recently within the last year or two,” the AARP wrote in a news release.
The lawsuit argues RTX’s practices violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act and the Virginia Human Rights Act. The civil action seeks relief for older workers whom Raytheon denied or deterred from job opportunities since 2018.
RTX denied the allegations in an email to NewsNation Tuesday.
“RTX complies with all relevant age discrimination laws, and we’re committed to maintaining a diverse workforce,” a spokesperson said. “We believe these claims are entirely without merit, and we will actively defend our hiring practices.”
In May 2023, RTX’s former global head of talent acquisition announced that about 25% of all new hires were new or recent college graduates, according to the AARP, which alleges that share has grown in recent years.
One of the men behind the lawsuit, 67-year-old Mark Goldstein, said he’s one of thousands of older workers harmed by what he called the company’s “discriminatory hiring practices.”
Goldstein previously filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2019. That led to the EEOC’s 2021 finding that Goldstein was denied consideration for the roles he applied for because of his age, according to AARP’s news release.
