Enterprise Leasing to Pay $1.8 Million in Florida EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit

MIAMI - Enterprise Leasing Company of Florida, LLC, which operates National, Enterprise and Alamo car rental services in Florida, will pay $1.8 million and provide significant non-monetary relief to settle a federal age discrimination lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Enterprise failed to hire candidates aged 40 or older for its management trainee position from at least 2019 to the present. While approximately 15% of the applications the company received for the position were submitted by applicants age 40 or above, these workers represented less than 3% of all hires. The EEOC identified over 125 witnesses who could testify that they were asked their age or graduation year during the interview process; were told by company hiring officials that most candidates were fresh out of college; were discouraged from pursuing the position; or were subjected to other age-related comments.

"Over a third of the adult workforce in the United States is age 50 or older," said EEOC Regional Attorney Kristen Foslid. "Employers cannot overlook qualified applicants simply because of their age."

Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Enterprise Leasing Company of Florida, LLC, Civil Action No.: 0:23-61744) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division after first attempting to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to providing monetary relief to the class of older applicants, the three-year consent decree requires Enterprise to implement sweeping injunctive relief, including implementing new ADEA policies, yearly ADEA training, posting of a notice about the lawsuit, and mandatory investigations of all complaints of age discrimination. Enterprise also agreed to extensive bi-annual reporting provisions, including an applicant tracking system, which will require the company to provide accurate data to the EEOC about its hiring decisions. Finally, as part of this agreement, Enterprise will maintain an Ethics Hotline, which can be found on the company's webpage in the Code of Conduct, where all applicants and employees can report complaints of discrimination.

EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne said, "Workers in this protected age group bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the workforce and can contribute to organizational success. This settlement reflects the EEOC's commitment to ensuring that all individuals have equal access to employment opportunities, regardless of age."

For more information on age discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/age-discrimination.

The Miami District Office's jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.