He fought cancer. Now he’s fighting for his job
Michigan salesman says his age got him fired
DETROIT — Russell Maisano talks about the relationships he has forged over the years.
The Clinton Township, Mich., man, who built a career selling cars and then managing others, says it’s the rapport with his customers that keeps them coming back.
That sales wisdom comes from 37 years in the business at a Detroit-area car dealership, but Maisano, 59, has been without a job since January when he was fired as he was home battling a rare form of throat cancer.
“I was looking forward to going back to work. It was my whole life,” said Maisano, whose firing prompted an outpouring of support and outrage on Facebook as well as a GoFundMe effort to cover his medical expenses.
Maisano, who has sued the dealership, contends the family-owned business wanted to rid the company of its older employees to reduce the cost of insurance premiums.
Although the details of Maisano’s case are unique, claims of work-related age discrimination in the United States are not. In 2016, the most recent full year available, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received
20,857 claims of violations under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. It was the ninth year in a row that the number of claims has exceeded
20,000, with the highest number in
2008 as the effects of the Great Recession began to truly take hold.
Experts say those numbers do not tell the whole story. Some employment law attorneys note that many potential discrimination cases are never reported because employers may offer a severance deal in exchange for giving up future claims involving age or numerous other types of discrimination.
A widespread belief
Older workers say age discrimination is simply a reality.
“Nearly two in three older workers believe that age discrimination exists in the workplace and those who believe so say it is common. Some 16% perceive that employers treat them worse on the job because of their age, up from 12% in
2007,” according to results from a 2014 AARP survey.
Rather than going away, work-related age discrimination, say some legal experts, has continued largely unabated even though it is illegal at any age. Much of the reason older workers face discrimination stems from assumptions about their capabilities, especially in an age of ever-evolving technology.
“The ageist stereotypes have grown over time,” said Royal Oak attorney Michael Pitt, who has seen a steady diet of such discrimination cases since he began working in employment law in
1980. “One of the most prevalent is that older employees aren’t as adept as other employees when it comes to digital matters.”
Such attitudes mask the reality that many older workers manage technology just fine, experts say. “I’d say that’s a stereotype. I think it’s a myth that younger people are better than older people at digital things,” Pitt said, noting that it’s not OK to make similar comparisons when it comes to race.
In Maisano’s case, the married father of four said he was forced by his employer to take a medical leave in the fall even though he believes he was capable of continuing at his job. He would work in the mornings and travel to Detroit in the afternoons for cancer treatments.
On Jan. 10, Maisano received a letter informing him of his termination, saying he had not provided a return-towork date, a claim he disputes. Now in remission, Maisano said he needs to work, both for his financial health as well as his sense of self.
Claims disputed
To the management of Sterling Heights, Mich., Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, Maisano’s claims ring hollow. Anthony Viviano, who owned the dealership for decades until last year but remains involved in his family’s business, referred to the case as “wrong,” noting that there are a “ton of people who are older than” Maisano still working as salesmen.
Viviano, who said he is personally hurt by the situation, in part because he trained Maisano, would not offer details about the firing, saying he’s not supposed to talk about the case, but that the truth would be a “shocker.”
“I just feel sorry that the guy’s got what he has, and it’s just a sad thing, and I attribute maybe some of these thoughts to the illness,” Viviano said, noting that he will be 86 in June so age is not an issue for him.
Gordon, who is representing Maisano in a federal lawsuit against the dealership and its management alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (a complaint alleging age discrimination has also been filed with the EEOC), said: “There is no shocker – just some desperation on the part of Viviano.”
She said Maisano has an excellent record with his company, and there’s only one main reason Maisano was fired: “It’s his age.”
Determining when to take action
Pitt said that after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receives a discrimination complaint, the commission typically lets the employer respond and then the complainant will receive a right-to-sue letter.
Pitt, who is one of the attorneys involved in the case against Fiat Chrysler, said age discrimination cases have been a significant part of his portfolio since he began working in employment law in 1980.
Michael Whitty, a retired professor from the University of Detroit Mercy who has taught courses on employment law, pointed to cultural beliefs that undervalue experience and prize youth.
“There is a youth fascination. Experience is highly discounted over (age) 40 unless you’re a plumber or electrician,” Whitty said.
In the tech industry in particular, where the age of workers tends skew younger, the impact could be stark.
Author Brigette Hyacinth wrote recently on the LinkedIn social media site of her frustration over the many emails she receives from older job candidates who are regularly told they are “overqualified” for positions. One woman told Hyacinth she is 55 with a master’s degree and 25 years of experience and cannot get a job in management.
“Every day, I see exceptional talent going to waste because of age discrimination, and it seems to be getting worse. The applicant tracking systems are set to reject such applications. I remember one company letting go of their older workers then complaining of low productivity and high turnover,” Hyacinth wrote.