Eli Lilly to Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Age-Discrimination Suit — Update

By Will Feuer

On October 12, 2023

Eli Lilly has agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle an age-discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Lilly denied positions to pharmaceutical sales representative applicants due to the company’s “Early Career” hiring initiative, the EEOC’s lawsuit alleged. The initiative, which was in place from 2017 to 2021, included goals designed to change hiring preferences to add more millennials to Lilly’s workforce, the EEOC said.

Lilly’s alleged conduct violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, according to the EEOC.

“Lilly is pleased to have resolved this dispute,” the company said in a statement. “While we continue to deny the allegations in the complaint, we worked collaboratively with EEOC to resolve this matter and will continue to foster and promote a culture of diversity and respect at Lilly.”

The consent decree resolving the case sets up a claims process that will compensate people aged 40 or older who applied for and were denied primary care sales representative positions in the Lilly Diabetes Business Unit from 2017 through June 30, 2020.

Lilly also will provide equal employment opportunity training to certain managers and human resources personnel, survey job applicants on whether they experienced discrimination, and specifically state in contracts with third-party recruiters that it does not discriminate against candidates for employment based upon age.

EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne commended Lilly for working collaboratively with the EEOC to resolve the lawsuit. Lilly voluntarily ended its Early Career hiring program before the EEOC took action.

This piece was republished from the Market Watch.