Ralph has worked as a model builder at Snowdrop Architects for 30 years. He gets laid off, and the firm then hires Charlotte, who is 24 and willing to work for half of Ralph’s salary. The firm never offered to let him stay and do Charlotte’s job for half the pay. When he left, one of the other architects told him, “Frankly, it’s not a bad thing to have a cute young person working with the clients.” Which of the following statements is true?

Ralph has a good claim against Snowdrop, because it had an obligation to offer him the lower-paying job before firing him.

Ralph has a good claim against Snowdrop, because it is illegal to replace an older worker with a younger worker just to save money.

Ralph has a good claim against Snowdrop, because age appears to have been a factor in Ralph being laid off, although not the main factor.

Ralph does not have a good claim against Snowdrop, because age was not the deciding factor in Snowdrop’s decision to lay off Ralph.