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No olds allowed. That's the unspoken HR mantra of Web startups — but the noisomely discriminatory practice seems to be spreading to some of the Valley's largest companies. Valley engineers are clucking over a job listing posted to a list run by the Software Development Forum. In it, an Oracle recruiter advertised a laundry list of required technical skills — but then noted that only "fresh grads" could apply, due to what seems to be an unofficial policy at Oracle: "We have multiple openings for our newly formed EBS Integrations group at Oracle but we have a restriction to hire only fresh graduates from outside." Companies from Microsoft and Google regularly make a practice of hiring engineers right out of college. They are younger, healthier, and more pliable — less costly in every way. But can Oracle legally advertise a job, but then reject a qualified applicant because they're not a "fresh grad"? It seems unlikely, but I'd welcome thoughts from HR experts in the comments. Oracle's job listing:

Looking for FreshGrads Only in Oracle's EBS Integrations Group Hello Everyone, We have multiple openings for our newly formed EBS Integrations group at Oracle but we have a restriction to hire only fresh graduates from outside. So if you know someone who has just graduated and willing to join Oracle, please send me a copy of their resume. Here is the job desc: —————————- Group: EBS Integration Development Team Description: Newly formed EBS Integration Group is currently looking for bright and talented people to deliver EBS solutions for various Process Integration Packs (PIPs). As a member of our staff you will be playing a vital role in designing, implementing and supporting the integration packs for Business processes defined by AIA team. If you are looking for an opportunity to enhance your skills and work on latest cutting edge technologies like WebServices, BPEL Process manager, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) , XML and XSL then we will provide you that opportunity. Candidate should be a self-starter, smart thinker and able to find information from vast Oracle information resources. We currently have multiple openings in HQ and IDC. * Design, Develop and support EBS integrations (ERP and CRM) with various products like Seibel, Psft, Glog, Retek, and Portal etc. * Ability to quickly learn and contribute, solve complex problems and meet aggressive time deadlines. * Ability to quickly grasp other products as position requires working in multiple product areas of EBS like Financials, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, CRM etc * Willing to interact with AIA group, Product Strategy and Product management as position involves working with various cross- functional global teams in US and India. * Understanding of SOA concepts is a plus. * Understanding of (all or some) BPEL PM, ESB, Web Services, Java, Jdeveloper, pl/sql and XML is a plus. * Understanding of EBS Financials, Customers, Supply Chain, Products, ALM, Order Management and CRM is a plus.