Communications Workers of America v. Target Corporation

In 2023, Outten & Golden and the AARP Foundation resolved an age discrimination lawsuit brought by the Communications Workers of America against Target.

Target is one of the largest department store chains in the U.S., with more than 400,000 employees across the country.

The plaintiffs alleged that Target violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and similar state laws when it posted social media job ads specifically directed toward younger workers. Before litigating in court, the plaintiffs filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claim in 2017.

Target maintained that its use of audience selection tools did not violate the ADEA or any other law. The amicable resolution we reached included a commitment by Target to improve how it recruits and hires older workers. This included creating a new hiring website focused on older workers, depicting older workers in job advertisements, and participating in job fairs that commonly draw older workers.

In addition, Target agreed to monitor how it uses audience selection tools on social media to ensure it follows the law. The company also agreed to avoid seeking information about or excluding applicants based on their age, date of graduation, generation, or adjectives that could be used as a proxy for age (such as “millennial” or “digital native”).