ADEA. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) makes it illegal to refuse to hire, disproportionately terminate or otherwise discriminate on the basis of age.

Claims Filed. Awards Granted.
Last year, for example, the EEOC recorded 20,000 new claims, an increase of 14.5% over the previous year - accounting for 23.6% of all discrimination claims filed with the agency. The median age discrimination verdict in federal courts was $270,000 – tops for all types of discrimination from 1994 to 2000. Employees who file an age discrimination charge have a 78% success rate at both state and local jury trials (source: Jury Verdict Research).

Look at Claims.
While ADEA reduced obvious age discrimination, it has not changed fundamental attitudes regarding age. Employees who complain often are dealt with quietly because employers know that it’s expensive to litigate. In even the most simple of cases, it will cost employers 6 figures from the time a complaint is filed to the time of trial. Many employers settle the matter but because of confidentiality agreements, these settlements leave no footprints. How many millions might we add to the costs associated with age discrimination if we knew the answer to the confidentiality agreement questions? Mature employees are often relieved to accept a face-saving exit deal. Their options are meager. If they are still working or are owed pension money, they are scared of losing their jobs or pensions; if they’ve been terminated, they may lack the money to pursue legal action.

What is the Number 1 Reason Mature Workers File Claims?
53% of the claims are related to job loss, an increase of 34 percent from 1999 to the end of 2004. The easiest claims to win are found when there is a disparate impact on the number of mature folks being released. Unfortunately, again, we’ll never know the exact numbers because employees report that they feel that “the older person is usually pushed out by giving him a really hard time.” These are the folks that often try to make a deal directly with their former employers rather than risking the costs to their pocketbooks and self-worth.

What are Workers Saying About Age Discrimination?
In 2004, AARP surveyed 1500 workers age 45 to 74. 67% said that age discrimination is a fact of life in the workplace and that they have concerns about “opportunities to re-enter the workplace and advance in their current jobs as they age.” 60% said that they believed older workers were the first to go when employers made cuts. A 2002 Conference Board survey of 1,600 workers age 50 and older found similar discontent: Of workers planning to retire in the next five years, 25 percent said they were leaving because they were being held back or marginalized because of their age. Linda Barrington, labor economist at The Conference Board, a nonprofit business research and training organization in New York, says the percentage is cause for concern. “It’s twice as big as I might have expected,” she says. Look for 2005 data by mid-year.

Take a Look at Your Organization.
Has your firm made strides to overcome the subtle discrimination that is so pervasive? Does your firm offer learning experiences to management – experiences that debunk the myths and generalizations about mature workers? If your workers were asked, would your mature workers feel the effects of subtle discrimination of which you may not even be aware?

Now, Take a Closer Look at Reported Inaction by HR.
There is some evidence that HR professionals are failing not only to deal with perceptions about age discrimination, but also even to recognize them. A study released in 2005 by the Conference Board polled 150 HR executives and “revealed startling contrasts between workers’ perceptions and Human Resources. In fact, significant numbers of HR executives seemed oblivious to the concerns expressed by older workers.” The Conference Board report went on to say that mature workers felt that “age-diversity training was important, especially for managers. But, 81% of HR executives reported that diversity training did not address supervisor attitudes toward older workers.”

What are You Doing to Change the Picture?
If you are in a position to influence your organization’s HR or OD leaders, you might ask them to include “age” in their diversity training. You can increase your awareness of the many myths surrounding maturity. You can become a powerful “myth buster” and voice your knowledge in order to positively impact your organization’s actions to engage, develop and retain mature workers in advance of the upcoming worker shortage. You may even wish to send them a “HOT TOPICS” newsletter on the subject!