By Lee Hagy

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Last Friday, a $70 million settlement was reached between 17 major networks and production studios, along with seven large talent agencies, and a class of plaintiffs representing writers over the age of forty in Hollywood, sending a bold message that age discrimination in hiring will not be tolerated.  The decade long battle to change the industry bias toward only hiring younger writers to work on popular television and movie projects ended in a landmark victory that will positively affect future generations of older Americans and writers.

According to the LA Times, approximately $2.5 million of the settlement will be used to establish a “Fund for the Future” that will issue grants and loans to older writers to aid their careers and study ways to supplement pension plans.  The case was helped out by the Writers Guild of America, which provided critical statistical information showing the age-hiring bias in Hollywood for the past few decades.

Although knowing about age discrimination in Hollywood for years, The LA Times reported that many writers were afraid to file a lawsuit for fear of losing their jobs.  Decisions like these will encourage more Americans who suspect age discrimination as the reason for their not being hired or for being let go to stand up and proclaim their rights as well.

At Leeds Morelli & Brown, PC, we believe that age discrimination at work, or anywhere else, has no place in a free and democratic society. The law agrees. More employers might agree too — if only they could feel the same kind of personal devastation, loss of self-esteem, desperation and depression that their victims do. If you have been discriminated against by an employer, talk to us.  Contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658 for a free consultation.