Los Angeles age discrimination attorney

Facebook recently vowed to rewrite its systems to ensure that employment discrimination wasn’t baked into its advertising platform, excluding workers on the basis of federally-protected classes like race, gender, age, religion and nationality. But there is evidence to suggest that whatever the company’s efforts, the type of discrimination that’s been occurring will continue.

T-46

A recent study published by computer science experts at the University of Southern California, Northeastern University and a non-profit think-tank called Upturn analyzed the algorithms responsible for ascertaining which users see which ads. In other words, where previous criticism of the social media giant largely focused on its targeting (the audience ad buyers sought to reach), these researchers looked at the algorithms responsible for advertisement delivery (who those ads were ultimately going to reach).

A California age discrimination lawsuit filed by four women laid off after decades of working for a job placement center say they were treated unfairly due to their age.

While the company attributed layoffs last year to budget constraints, the women – all over 40 – said they were all in upper managerial roles at the firm when the layoffs occurred, followed shortly thereafter by hiring younger replacements. Those employees who remained after the layoffs were then given raises of 10 percent. NBC-4 Los Angeles reported in one case, a younger woman with less experience than one of plaintiffs became a supervisor. Another alleged the director asked if she would be retiring anytime soon. One said she felt pressured to return to work early from her medical leave (during which she was undergoing chemotherapy treatments), indicating at one point, because it didn’t seem her supervisors believed the severity of the situation, that she felt compelled to open her shirt and show her scars to her supervisors.

The case is further complicated because the company contracts with Los Angeles County (specifically the Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community) and receives local, state and federal funds to to provide workforce services to youth, adults and seniors. The County is not named as a defendant in the California age discrimination lawsuit. Plaintiffs say they not only want to be compensated for their losses, but to protect current employees from facing the same fate in the future. Continue Reading ›

Articles Tagged with Los Angeles age discrimination attorney

Is California Age Discrimination Hard-Wired in Facebook Ads?

California Age Discrimination Lawsuit Alleges Unfair Layoffs