Third Circuit confirms age is just a number

On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania employers) upheld the District of New Jersey’s dismissal of an employee’s age discrimination claims, finding she was unable to show her employer’s nondiscriminatory reasons for not hiring her were “so plainly wrong that it cannot have been [its] real reason.” Because she was unable to provide compelling evidence to support her claim, the Third Circuit wouldn’t overturn the district court’s decision.

Facts

Anne Marie Cronin worked for Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. as a human resources business partner (HRBP) from 2004 until August 2017. The company began reorganizing its HR department in 2015, when it adopted Workday as its new HR software platform. This reorganization led to Cronin’s dismissal from the company in 2017.

Because Booz Allen anticipated Workday would “enable the business units to perform their own HR transactions instead of going through an HRBP,” it sought to transition its HRBPs to a “more strategic and proactive role of an adviser and consultant regarding future business needs.” It titled those roles human resources talent consultants (HRTCs).

While Booz Allen told its then-current HRBPs, including Cronin, that they would have the first opportunities to apply for the new HRTC positions, it created fewer new positions. That meant not every HRBP would retain a role, and they would each have to go through an application process to be considered.