A unanimous jury recently determined that the University of Iowa’s (UI) decision not to hire a 55-year-old man did not amount to age discrimination. In 2010, Donald Dobkin applied for a teaching position at UI’s College of Law. When Mr. Dobkin was not chosen for the position, he brought a lawsuit, claiming he was passed over because of his age. He also asserted that UI hired a less experienced person for the job because she was younger. Following a full trial, a jury returned a unanimous verdict for UI, finding no age discrimination.

Mr. Dobkin’s most recent defeat was not the first time he had lost an age discrimination case to UI.  In 2008, Mr. Dobkin had applied to teach an immigration law class. After not receiving an interview, Mr. Dobkin sued, claiming the school had declined to consider him because of his age. This case, like the most recent one, also went to trial. And also like the most recent case, the jury, after considering all the evidence, rejected Mr. Dobkin’s claim that age bias played any part in UI’s hiring decision. Mr. Dobkin’s request for a new trial was also denied.