Blaming age discrimination, lawyer says she didn’t get city job despite being only applicant

A 63-year-old woman is suing over age discrimination, alleging that she was passed over for a government job even though she was the only one who applied.

Elena Alvarez filed her federal lawsuit against the city of Melbourne this week. Alvarez, a lawyer since 1994, applied for two openings — as an Assistant City Attorney/Legal Advisor and an Assistant City Attorney — for the city, located in Brevard County.

“Alvarez was well qualified for both positions,” her lawsuit said. “Of the two positions that Alvarez applied for, one had four applicants, but Alvarez was the only applicant for the other.”

During her second-round interview, Melbourne City Attorney Manny Anon brought up Alvarez’s age and asked why she wanted the Assistant City Attorney role so late in her career, her lawsuit said.

Ultimately, Alvarez said she found out she didn’t land either job.

“Alvarez ultimately learned that she was not selected for either available position — even though she was the only applicant for one of them,” the lawsuit said. “Alvarez also learned that Melbourne instead offered the Assistant City Attorney position to another younger, male candidate who had not even applied for it.”

The city declined to comment on pending litigation Friday, but spokesperson Cheryl Mall described the hiring process.

The city was recruiting for the two positions but decided not to hire anyone when the jobs closed May 31 and June 22, she said. The city reopened a single Assistant City Attorney position on Aug. 2 and closed the hiring process Sept 20. Alvarez did not apply the second time, Mall said.

The city then hired Kellen Simmons to be the Assistant City Attorney for $118,655 annually on Dec. 4. Mall declined to say how old he is, but according to the Florida Bar, he was admitted in 2011 — 17 years after Alvarez.

“The city may respond that they did not fill either position that Ms. Alvarez applied for.  But the attorney they initially offered the job that she applied for (Kellen Simmons), was ultimately hired as a city attorney.  They may have slightly modified the position to give them some cover, but its clear what happened,” said Alvarez’s attorney Scott Terry.

Alvarez found out she was the only applicant initially when she filed a public records request, he said.

According to her Florida Bar profile, Alvarez also has a clean record and no discipline in the past 10 years. The bilingual lawyer graduated from Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Accusing the city of illegal age discrimination, Alvarez is suing for front and back pay, compensatory damages for emotional pain, punitive damages, attorneys fees and other relief.

“As a result of Defendant’s unlawful discrimination, Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer damages,” the lawsuit said.