Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forums, and have a question that I am not sure about the answer. Hopefully somebody can give me some insight.

My Fiancée is currently looking for a new job. We live in Virginia. She has her Masters degree in Physician Assistance, which is a step above a nurse and a step below a doctor. She currently sees her own patients and prescribes medication as well.

During her interview with a urgent care company, she was told a few things that made her really upset. My Fiancée is 25 years old, but has had 3 years experience and is excellent at what she does. She had a 3.9 GPA during her entire Masters degree program, and scored very high on her Physician Assistant certification test. Although she is 25 years old, she does look young for her age. People have mistaken her to be 18-20 years old. This company that is looking to hire a Physician Assistant conducted an interview with my Fiancée.(she was interviewed once by a director and then brought back for another interview with the owners) The interviewers were the owners (mother and father) which are the doctors of the urgent care company. During the interview they repeatedly told my Fiancée that she looked very young and did not know if the patients would like the fact that someone that looked that young would tell them what is wrong with them. They think that with her looking that young, patients would not give her respect and/or second guess what she has to tell them about their health. The owners said this many times throughout the interview. Furthermore, the owners also contacted my Fiancée's references and asked them if her appearance affected her job performance at her previous workplace.

Although we have not heard back from the owners as far as an offer or not, my Fiancée has already decided not to take the position due to what they said and how they contacted her references asking about the way she looks. One of her pet peeves is when people tell her she looks young.

If the company does not give her an offer for the position, is this act discrimination? If so, what kind of discrimination is this considered to be? Is this grounds for a lawsuit?

Any insight would be much appreciated. If any more information is needed, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks!

Noah
In the state of Virginia