Bryce Zimpfer filed an age discrimination suit against Palm Beach County after being passed over for an employee relations manager position(Bernardin, 2012). Had Mr. Zimpfer been promoted, he would have had a dramatic salary increase (Kowalski, 1985). In order to establish a case, Mr. Zimpfer and his attorney, Lynn Szymoniak, provided the following evidence: Mr. Zimpfer was older than 39 and therefore protected under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, was able to perform his job to a satisfactory level, and the position was filled by a younger person(The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967). Further evaluation of his performance would be needed to determine if he had, in fact, been a good candidate for the employee relations manager position. .
Mr. Zimpfer's legal counsel sought the expertise of Marcy Josephs, PhD., to construct a report detailing the qualifications of all candidates for the employee relation manager position (Bernardin, 2012). While her report favored Mr. Zimpfer, it lacked the information necessary in identifying who the best candidate for the position would have been. .
In evaluating the overall scores, Mr. Zimpfer and Merriman were not considered to be the best candidates, with total scores of 20 and 11, respectively (Bernardin, 2012). Dr. Josephs' expertise didn't account for the interview portion of the candidate evaluation. In many instances, a job candidate can win over the interview panel with eagerness, confidence, speaking style or body language (Soman & Madan). .
Though Mr. Zimpfer's experience may have showed that he possessed the skills in Dr. Josephs matrix, that didn't translate to actions or words in a face-to-face interview. Mr. Merriman, on the other hand, could have been more personable and confident, highlighting his eagerness to perform the position and convincing the panel during his interview. He might not have had Mr. Zimpfer's level of experience, but his attitude and confidence may have more impressive.