Constitutional Rights

One of the constitutional rights that have been violated by Riordan Manufacturing is that of discrimination by age. When the position of the corporations executive officer (CEO) became vacant, two long time company veterans were considered to fill the position. In the companies human resource employee files is a memorandum comparing and contrasting the two canidates, Hugh McCauley, the fifty-six year old corporate operations officer and Kenneth Collins, the sixty year old manager of research and development, in areas of competency. The areas of evaluation when considering both of these men where based on technical skill, their relationship with team members, their relationships with the customers, financial competancy, and age. By using the factor of age in the evaluation and decision process of replacing the CEO the company not only violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967,which prohibites age discrimination in employment (EEOC 1967), but they also violated their own company policy as an equal opportunity employer as stated in the following abstract from the employee handbook:

"In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions at Riordan will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities. Riordan does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. We will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship. This policy covers all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination and access to benefits and training."(Riordan 2004)

References

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (1967) Age Discrimination in Employment Act. United States Code, v29 sec 621

Riordan Human Resources (2004) Equal Opportunity Employment Riordan Manufacturing Employee Handbook. Revised; September 2004