08.14.07
Avoiding Age Discrimination
According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, by 2010, 37.2 percent of the population will fall into the 45-84 age group. By 2020 it will rise to 39 percent. What’s the significance to businesses? One major significance is that employers will find themselves dealing with a larger class of workers age 40 and older who are protected under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
In fiscal 2006, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 16,548 charges of age discrimination, resolved 14,146 charges and recovered $51.5 million in monetary benefits, not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation.
One specific U.S. Court of Appeals case drew the attention of many. In D’Cunha v. Genovese/Eckerd, an older job applicant qualified for a pharmacist position in a phone screening but was later rejected in favor of a younger candidate after the face-to-face interview. The employer, Eckerd was unable to demonstrate a nondiscriminatory reason for rejecting the older candidate.
The message for employers: start thinking about the age spread in various job positions throughout your company. Furthermore, make sure you pay the same attention to age as you do to race and gender in your hiring process.
