Enterprise Leasing Company of Florida will pay $1.8 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced September 25. Enterprise Leasing Company operates National, Enterprise, and Alamo car rental services in Florida.
The settlement ends a federal suit – EEOC v. Enterprise Leasing Company of Florida –charging that the rental car company since at least 2019 had systemically refused to hire applicants aged 40 or older for a management trainee position.
Despite older workers making up 15% of applicants, they accounted for less than 3% of hires – a disparity the EEOC cited as evidence of intentional discrimination. The EEOC said it had witnesses who could testify that company hiring officials asked their age or graduation year during the interview process, told them that most candidates were fresh out of college, and discouraged them from pursuing the position.
The three-year consent decree requires Enterprise to implement: new age discrimination policies, annual training, an applicant tracking system, and a reporting hotline.