HR leader said what!? Questionable comment at ‘Leadership Town Hall’ results in $2.4M payout

As an HR professional, you know that words matter – a lot. And you’re probably mindful of how you speak about employees and applicants to avoid making a questionable comment.

That’s important because the wrong words can make employees feel excluded or ostracized at work.

And as this case shows, careless words from HR can be very expensive.

EEOC steps in after questionable comment

Who was involved: Lilly USA, LLC, a pharmaceutical corporation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and an undetermined class of applicants over the age of 40.

What happened: According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the company’s senior vice president for HR spoke at a “Leadership Town Hall,” pointing out that the workforce was “skewed toward the older generations.” The senior vice president then announced an “Early Career” hiring goal to add more millennials to the staff.

As a result, the company “changed its hiring preferences and intentionally under-hired older candidates for sales representative positions in favor of younger candidates based on their age,” the EEOC alleged.

The EEOC filed an age discrimination lawsuit, asserting that the alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The suit sought back wages and damages.

Result: The company agreed to deposit $2.4 million into an interest-bearing settlement fund and provide other relief to settle the lawsuit. Under the terms of a 30-month consent decree, the company was: 

• Prohibited from rejecting applicants based on age
• Ordered to update its hiring policies
• Directed to notify employees about their rights under the ADEA
• Required to provide training for managers
• Ordered to fairly reconsider interested claimant-job candidates in the same manner as any other job applicant, and
• Required to submit periodic reporting to the EEOC.

Info: Settlement in EEOC v. Lilly USA, LLC, 6/26/23.