'Apprentice' Faces Age-Bias Suit

Zap2It.com | January 8, 2007

Mark Burnett

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49-year-old claims he was dismissed as too old

A New Hampshire man is suing Donald Trump and "The Apprentice," claiming he was rejected for the show simply because he's over 40.

Joseph Hewett, a 49-year-old technology manager from New Hampshire, filed an age-discrimination suit against the real-estate mogul and "Apprentice" creator Mark Burnett last week. The federal suit claims Hewett applied for the show in 2005 but was rejected as too old.

Hewett is also seeking to have the case made a class action, the New York Post reports, which could open the claim up to any number of rejected applicants over 40. The show's sixth season debuted Sunday with 18 contestants, the oldest of whom was 37.

Unscripted series routinely set age limits for contestants; on "American Idol," for instance, would-be singers can't be older than 29 when they audition for the show. "The Apprentice" could be in somewhat dicier territory, however, since it bills itself as a job interview.

In 2005, the show settled a suit by a wheelchair-bound lawyer who questioned wording on the "Apprentice" application stating that potential contestants must be "in excellent physical and mental health." The show subsequently changed the wording on its forms.

In addition to Trump and Burnett, Hewett's suit names several of Trump's companies as defendants.