A federal judge in San Francisco has certified a collective action of job applicants older than 40 years old, who claim global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers systematically weeded out older workers from consideration for entry-level positions in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of the Northern District of California granted plaintiffs’ motion for conditional collective action certification to pursue their federal age-discrimination claims Thursday, although his ruling remains temporarily under seal.