Like the Hooters of house moving, Meathead Movers, a California-based company, prides itself on its young, muscular employees. Its mission, since launching in Fresno in 1997, has been to recruit student-athletes, and the company's social media posts include photos of the handsome guys pumping weights and lifting boxes.
Now Meathead Movers is being sued by the federal government for age discrimination.
Lest you think the Meatheads look good hauling your wares around in their trucks, the company is dedicated to “helping victims of domestic violence get a fresh start in life,” according to their web site.
“We use our talent to help those who need us most, victims of domestic violence,” the company says. “We are passionate and determined to create change in the world. Through partnerships with shelters and the #MoveToEndDV movement, we are committed to getting victims out of domestic violence situations for free.”
Real men don't hit women.
For #Domestic Violence Awareness Month Meathead Movers will be handing out these purple wristbands as we continue to provide free moves to brave victims and survivors fleeing abuse. Order one during your next move and tag us! #MoveToEndDV pic.twitter.com/tq5QGsgKGh
— Meathead Movers (@MeatheadMovers) October 5, 2022
Additionally, Meathead Movers' “founding principle” is to “support working athletes in pursuit of their dream careers, and that will never change.”
“The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission [EEOC] sued Meathead Movers in Fresno, Calif., this year for violating age discrimination law by failing to hire enough older workers,” Wall Street Journal reports “Labor lawyers and trade groups say the case will offer clues about how the agency will approach anti-discrimination laws now that President Biden's election is in.”
The company's owner, Aaron Steed, denied discriminating against older workers.
“We're 100 percent open to hiring anyone at any age if they can do the job,” he told the Journal. “People love working on Meathead, or they're turned off by how difficult it is. You have to move furniture and run to get more.”
We had quite a year… #Happy New Year #StudentAthleteMovers pic.twitter.com/h6GyIAVgiq
— Meathead Movers (@MeatheadMovers) December 30, 2022
But according to the EEOC, chaired by Charlotte Burrows, which earlier this year pledged to “vigorously enforce age discrimination laws because older workers regularly face prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination because of age,” according to the Journal — Meathead's marketing and hiring practices could discourage older workers from applying. The company encourages employees to keep an eye out at gyms, play meets and college campuses for potential new recruits, the EEOC argued.
It's called “discouragement bias,” the agency said, and it can manifest itself in job ads, marketing materials and job application questions.
Nicole St. Germain, an EEOC spokeswoman, warned, “Word of mouth is never a good way to hire.”
It was the EEOC itself, not a complaint from a prospective worker, that instigated an investigation into Meathead Movers in 2017.
“The agency typically investigates companies after someone files a complaint,” the Journal notes. “It received more than 70,000 complaints in the last year and filed 91 employment discrimination lawsuits.”
Internal emails reviewed by the Journal revealed that the EEOC demanded $15 million from Meathead Movers in settlement negotiations before dropping the price to about $5 million. In response, “Meathead offered $750,000 to settle.”
The EEOC filed its lawsuit in September.
“We had no idea we were doing anything wrong by being a moving company that hires a lot of student athletes,” Steed said. “We want to change and evolve, but we can't agree to go out of business doing that.”
How it started: How it goes: pic.twitter.com/IE8dDYGhQg
— Meathead Movers (@MeatheadMovers) October 15, 2020
Bill Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president of litigation at AARP, which advocates for the rights of seniors, supports the EEOC's decision.
“Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is over 50. I'm pretty sure he'd be good at moving boxes,” Rivera said. “This kind of stereotype about who might make a good driver has no place in an economy that values individuals.”
But according to Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, age-based demands could backfire. If older employees are seen as a liability risk, he argued, companies will be less likely to hire them.
“It is the most counterproductive of all the major areas of discrimination law,” he said. “This makes them less employable later in their careers because they are known as litigation hazards.”
“A lot of jobs are naturally held by young people,” Olson noted. “Initial training is difficult to align with EEOC's view.”
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you're sick of letting radical tech execs, bogus fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals, and the lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news, consider donating to BPR to help us fight back them. Now is the time. The truth has never been more critical!
Success! Thanks for donating. Please share BPR content to help fight lies.
We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.
English 
Español de Venezuela 