Cigarette Giant Sued For Age Discrimination

Atlanta Partner Bert Brannen was quoted in the August 3 Atlanta Business Chronicle article "Cigarette Giant Sued For Age Discrimination." The article reported on a federal age discrimination lawsuit involving the nation's second largest cigarette maker, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The company was accused of discriminating against hundreds of older workers for entry-level sales jobs because they were 40 years of age or older. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Atlanta in June, claimed that R.J. Reynolds instructed recruiters to reject candidates with eight or more years of sales experience and to target candidates two to three years out of college. Bert said: "This is just another example of the growing trend of class and collective actions against publicly traded companies that are perceived to be vulnerable to publicity or have deep pockets." Even if the company did no wrong, it's going to cost them to prove it.