Opinion ID: 2772155
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Randall Prather

Text: Prather was fifty-three years old and worked for DS2 as an NC Machine Operator II. Sean Wallace was the Lockheed supervisor in Prather’s area. Prather applied for several positions during the transition, including NC Machine Operator I and II, Sheet Metal Worker, and Maintenance Trades Helper. Wallace did not interview Prather for the NC Machine Operator I and II positions because Prather’s score on the skills assessment was lower in comparison to other applicants. Lockheed did interview him for the Sheet Metal Worker and Maintenance Trades Helper positions in the Finishing Shop and “LBUR” and “Deburr” areas. Prather received combined scores of 42.1% for Sheet Metal Worker, 57.5% for Maintenance Trades Helper in the Finishing Shop, and 70.0% for Maintenance Trades Helper in the “LBUR” and “Deburr” areas. Each DS2 applicant whom Lockheed hired for these positions had higher scores than Prather. The lowest scores for successful applicants were 45.61% for Sheet Metal Workers, 78.7% for Maintenance Trades Helpers in the Finishing Shop, and 86.6% for Maintenance Trades Helpers hired in the “LBUR” and “Deburr” areas. For every position for which Prather applied, Lockheed hired someone who was either older or around the same age as Prather: Don Coffey (sixty-four) as an NC Machine Operator; Michael Maze (fifty-three) and Oran Gilvin (fifty) as Sheet Metal Workers; and Jackie Shuler (fifty-four), Stephen Robinson (fifty-one), and Billy Hibbard (forty-nine) as Maintenance Trades Helpers. -5- Lockheed also hired individuals for each position who were more than six years younger than Prather. Prather did not hear anything from any Lockheed employees that made him think age played a role in the decision not to hire him. Instead, he opined that the hiring process should have been based on seniority, and speculated that perhaps Lockheed wanted to hire younger workers because they were more likely to do what they were told.