Appeals Court Sends Age Discrimination Suit Back to Texas Court

Austin Oil and Gas Attorney, Gregory D. Jordan

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) January 30, 2017 – The lawsuit of a man who claims he was wrongly denied a job because of his age is headed back to Texas federal court.

A Fifth Circuit panel sent the case back to district court, saying Phillip Haskett plausibly alleged that Cinco Energy Management Group declined to hire him due to his age.

“Both federal and Texas state law protect people age 40 or older from age discrimination in employment,” said Gregory D. Jordan, an Austin employment attorney with the Law Offices of Gregory D. Jordan. “It is unlawful for an employer to fire or refuse to hire an individual because of their age.”

Haskett filed suit in Texas federal court alleging that he was denied a landman job due to his age. The district court dismissed the suit in March 2015. In an unpublished opinion, the appellate panel remanded the case back to district court, saying that Haskett had properly alleged an age discrimination case and the lower court erred in dismissing the case.

The panel said that Haskett claimed that he was in the protected class of people over the age of 40 and applied for positions he was qualified for, but Cinco did not hire him and filled the positions with people under the age of 40. The panel said that one of Haskett’s allegations, that 65 percent of the Cinco workforce was under the age of 40, would be insufficient standing alone. However, the panel noted that Haskett also alleged that Cinco made a statement to a third party that the positions Haskett applied for were filled with people under the age of 40.