Age Discrimination
Posted by segacor on April 22, 2008
The Professional Employer has a couple of good articles related to age discrimination.-
In Fiscal Year 2007, EEOC received 19,103 charges of age discrimination. EEOC resolved 16,134 age discrimination charges in FY 2007 and recovered $66.8 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation). For the complete article click HERE.
Attorneys expect to see a rise in caregiving-related discrimination lawsuits as the rest of the country “grays”. Family responsibility discrimination cases increased almost 400% from 1996 to 2005. The average award was just over $100,000. (That figure does not include out of court settlements.) For the complete article click HERE.
applicanttree said
That’s interesting. I’ve been keeping up with the age discrimination thought for a bit now. I’d almost like to test it out–have two people equally qualified go out for the same job. I bet the younger person would get it, still.
Michael L. Gooch said
Inappropriate behavior and off-hand remarks will sneak up to bite you. Have you ever been blindsided by disparaging remarks made by your management team? The managers don’t realize at the time that they are in a discrimination mode. I detail these likely events in my management book, Wingtips with Spurs. Usually they will ‘get it’ when their depositions start. When you hear the following phrases, stop the offender, offer some education, and hope to goodness no one else heard them. If it happens again with the same person, it may be time to sell the cow. The courts and juries will decide if the remarks are ‘stray comments’ or direct evidence of a discrimination mindset.
• “We need sharp, young people.”
• “We need people who can come in early and stay late.”
• “They’re dinosaurs.”
• “They’re too old to learn something new”
• “We want employees who are young, lean, and mean.”
• “They wouldn’t be able to keep up with the fast company
growth.”
• “We’re looking for longevity.”
• “We need some young blood in this department.”
If a manager allows a culture that tolerates remarks such as the ones above, then the manager will probably get what he or she is asking for. The great leader will remind management on a frequent basis that they should never forget silence is often the best answer. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR http://www.michaellgooch.com
Jack Payne said
I’ve always wanted to play Linebacker for the Green Bay Packers. I wonder–if I applied, would I be considered? Somehow I don’t think the Green Bay Packers are looking for an 82-year old Linebacker, and would probably turn me down. Would this be age discrimination?
segacor said
Jack,
I too share in your NFL fantasy. However, as silly as it may seem, if the Packers fail to uphold EEOC regulations in any way during their hiring/termination process a judge can hold them liable for discrimination.
Of course false accusations are made against employers all the time…which is why I recommend business owners(who can’t afford Green Bay Packer attorneys) consider outsourcing their HR responsibilities to professionals.
Corsetry said
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Corsetry