Rabin v. PwC

In 2021, Outten & Golden and the AARP Foundation secured a $11.6 million class action settlement for more than 10,000 PwC job applicants, who were allegedly denied accountant positions because of their age.

PwC is one of the Big Four accounting firms. It’s the second largest by revenue, with more than 370,000 employees in 149 countries and territories.

The class alleged that PwC’s recruitment strategy largely focused on college campuses, making it difficult for anyone not connected to these institutions to apply for entry-level accountant roles. PwC preferred a younger workforce, as seen in its focus on hiring millennials and its requirement that partners retire by age 60, they said. As a result, PwC routinely rejected applicants aged 40 and up for accounting positions, the class alleged.

PwC’s practices allegedly violated the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) as well as the Michigan Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the class alleged. PwC disputed the allegations, and its settlement was not an admission of liability.

In addition to the settlement’s financial terms, PwC agreed to bring in an outside expert to recommend changes in its workplace. The expert would give recommendations for training employees on age inclusivity, recruiting older workers, and preventing age bias in hiring practices and job postings. PwC committed to opening up campus recruiting to alumni, advertising jobs directly to older populations, avoiding questions about graduation year before making an offer, and including age in its nondiscrimination policy.