Introduction

The Zimpfer vs. Palm Beach County case is about a lawsuit filed by Mr. Bryce Zimpfer against Palm

Beach County alleging a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Mr. Zimpher, age 52, has

worked for the countys employee relations area and this employment had lasted for 16 years. There

was a vacancy which was advertised by the county for the position of employee relations manager, a

position which Mr. Zimpfer decided to apply for. After considering all the applications, the county chose

a candidate, Mr. Brad Merriman, age 33, to fill this position. Mr. Zimpfer then decided to file a complaint

with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EOOC) and hired an attorney, Ms. Lynn

Szymoniak to pursue his case. Armed with a favorable report from an I/O psychologist, Dr. Marcy

Josephs, Ms. Szymoniak is now attempting to reach a settlement with Palm Beach Countys legal

representatives.

Critical Issues

ADEA Requirements and Prima Facie Evidence

In order to establish a prima facie case against Palm Beach County, Mr. Zimpfer and his attorney would

have to provide evidence that would meet certain requirements. The requirements are: 1) proving that

Mr. Zimpfer is older than 39 and therefore protected under the ADEA; 2) Mr. Zimpfer is able to perform

satisfactorily at some absolute or relative level; 3) Mr. Zimpfer was nor hired, promoted, or

compensated, or was discharged, laid off, or forced to retire; and 4) that the position was filled by a

person younger than Mr. Zimpfer. Mr. Zimpfer would not have any problem providing the evidence

needed to satisfy requirements 1, 3, and 4. Requirement 2 on the other hand might be a little tricky to

prove.

ADEA Requirements for Conclusive Evidence and Relevant Court Cases

Though Mr. Zimpfers attorney was able to get a report from an I/O psychologist, Dr. Josephs, which

verifies his ability to perform the duties described in the ad for the managerial position, the county

could also get its own expert to rebut this psychologists findings in the report. If Dr. Josephs is able to

convince this jury then there is sufficient evidence to conclusively prove that Mr. Zimpfer was a victim of

discrimination, since her report shows that he is clearly more qualified for the position than Mr.

Merriman is.

Critical Evaluation of the I/O Psychologist Report

Though Dr. Josephs report looks comprehensive, it could be considered to be lacking all the information

needed to conclude who the best candidate for the position is. To come up with scores, Dr. Josephs did

not take into consideration the conversations the interviewer had with each candidate. Though Mr.

Zimphers resume may have showed that he possessed all the skill she gave him credit for, those written

words dont necessarily translate to actions. It could be that he was not able to convince the interview

panel that he actually possessed those skills. Mr. Merriman on the other hand could have been more

convincing during his interview. He might not have the experience of Mr. Zimpfer but he could possess

more knowledge of the particular skills that are needed for this position.

Since Zimpfer had been working with the county for 16 years, they would be able to get some more

information about him from his past and present supervisors. Likewise, the county could have received

very positive recommendations sent by Mr. Merrimans previous employers on his behalf. Dr. Josephs

didnt have access to these and therefore could not consider these key pieces of information when filling

out her work requirement matrix. It also could be that she intentionally left out information that would

be unfavorable to her client.

Potential Additional Evidence Needed for Zimpfer

There is some additional evidence that Mr. Zimpfer could introduce to show that the county did in fact

discriminate against him. He could produce the job performance reports he has received while working

for the county that show him to be an exemplary worker, and recommend him for promotion. This

combined with the I/O psychologists report would help him meet the second requirement needed to

establish a prima facie. He could also look to see if Palm Beach County has a trend of passing up older

employees for younger employees when filling up managerial positions.

Potential Rebuttal Evidence Needed for the County

The attorney for the HR manager for Palm Beach County could introduce some additional evidence that

would help prove that his client did not discriminate against Mr. Zimpfer. He could introduce transcripts

of the interviews of both men which would help prove that Mr. Merriman performed better than Mr.

Zimpfer did. He could also produce proof of Mr. Merriman having a better academic qualification than

Mr. Zimpfer does. This would help prove that he decided to go with academic qualification instead of on

the job experience when deciding which candidate to pick. He could then provide evidence that would

put into question the credibility of the I/O psychologist. If successful, this would discredit her report and

have a significant negative impact on the Mr. Zimpfers case since its success is mostly hinged on the

jury accepting and believing Dr. Josephs report.

Conclusions

Recommendations to the county

Overall I think Palm Beach County did discriminate against Mr. Zimpfer. They gave the job to someone

who appears to be less qualified for the position than Mr. Zimpfer is, but also much younger than he is

and would cost less. This being the case, I would recommend they settle the suit outside the court. If

they were to lose this case, it would set up a precedent which would enable other aggrieved employees,

present or past, to file more ADEA suits against Palm Beach County.

Future Preventive Actions Needed

I the long term, I would advise Palm Beach County to be more meticulous in their candidate search. If

they do decide to hire someone much younger than another applicant, they should make sure he is

clearly more qualified for the job than the older candidate is. I would also recommend recording or

keeping minutes of each interview. This would provide some evidence to counter an unfavorable report

from an I/O psychologist.

http://flatworldknowledge.lardbucket.org/books/international-trade-theory-and-policy/section_12_10.html. Source for March 26th, 2013 presentation.

http://flatworldknowledge.lardbucket.org/books/international-trade-theory-and-policy/section_12_10.htmlhttp://flatworldknowledge.lardbucket.org/books/international-trade-theory-and-policy/section_12_10.html