Gary Glouner, a 52 year old former Facebook employee, has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the social networking firm. Mr. Glouner alleges that that he was terminated after complaining about Facebook’s treatment of older employees. Although a spokesperson for Facebook has denied the allegations, the lawsuit claims the company has a track record of firing employees over the age of 50.
Mr. Glouner claims his termination fit what he believes is Facebook’s preference of younger employees who grew up using social media platforms. The complaint notes that several of his coworkers over the age of 50 were terminated and replaced with younger employees. Management also allegedly explained the terminations were due to their “poor cultural fit” and that they “didn’t move fast enough”.
It is Mr. Glouner’s understanding that his termination was in response to him sending Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg a detailed email about the supposed bias against older employees. The email went unanswered and he started to receive poor performance reviews. It was soon after that Mr. Glouner had a seizure and went on a medical leave. During this time, Facebook reached out to him and accused him of having unauthorized absences and that he was failing to meet their work expectations. They concluded their conversation by informing him that he would be terminated.
Unfortunately, Facebook is not the first company in Silicon Valley that has been accused of discriminating against older employees. In fact, there have been over 90 age discrimination complaints filed against some of the top tech companies since 2012. Age discrimination seems to be a growing issue in the tech industry. If you or a loved one feels as though they have been targeted at work due to their age, a consultation with an employment attorney may provide some insight on your rights as a worker. At Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, we offer a free consultation with one of our available attorneys. Call us at (212) 300-0375 to see if you may have a claim. You can also find additional information on discrimination on our webpage.