The Communication Workers of America ("CWA") as well
as three named plaintiffs filed suit against named defendants and
an unspecified class of "hundreds of major American employers
and employment agencies," for alleged age discrimination in
violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
("ADEA"), that protects individuals 40 and older from
discrimination on the basis of their age. The basis for
CWA's claim is that the employers allegedly utilized targeted
Facebook advertising that expressed a preference for younger
workers.
For the uninitiated, Facebook inserts various advertisements
along with user-generated content into a user's News
Feed. Facebook boasts that its advertising allows businesses
to choose their audience based on demographics, behaviors, and
contact information. Specifically, Facebook's Ads Manager
allows for the business to "[f]ind people based on traits such
as age, gender, relationship status, education, workplace, job
titles and more."
