While looking for a job is
hardly easy for anyone,
especially during a pandemic,
many professionals in their fifties,
60s or 70s faced a unique challenge
that can hurt their chances of
getting a new job or advancing in
their careers age discrimination.
Here to elaborate more,
along with steps to take
for this mistreatment,
is AARP Foundation Senior Vice
president for litigation Bill Rivera.
Hello, bill.
Hi, Desiree, how are you?
We're doing good.
So Bill, I wanted to ask you,
what are some signs of age
discrimination in the hiring process?
Well, first, let me emphasize
that age discrimination,
like other forms of discrimination,
is wrong and it's illegal
in every jurisdiction.
And I'm really glad that we are
talking about it because it really is,
sadly, very pervasive.
Unfortunately,
according to a recent AARP study,
more than 60% of workers 50 and older
have experienced or witnessed age
discrimination in the workplace recently,
and it can start as early
as the application process.
New signs of potential age discrimination
in the hiring process include
asking upfront in the application
or interview process for your age,
your date of birth,
or other age identifying
information such as your high
school or college graduation date,
for example.
You don't need to know that at the very
beginning or during the interview process.
You also might find that the
advertisements for the jobs themselves
may have language that really limits
the opportunities for older adults,
for example.
Saying that,
you can't have more than seven years of
experience to be considered for the job,
regardless of the seniority of the position.
Similarly,
you might have coded language in the
application process that can be used
to dissuade and discourage older applicants,
or to weed them out early on.
Things that say we're looking
for digital natives or a
recent college graduate again,
regardless to the extent of the nature of
the position or the number of years that you.
Might have for the job.
If you're qualified for the job,
you should have a fair and
equal opportunity to compete for
it. And you mentioned signs of
discrimination in the hiring process.
What about in the workplace as well?
Well, you might also see
it in a variety of ways.
For example, who's being promoted?
Who's being given the job
training opportunities?
Is it really the younger workers
that the company is investing in,
or are they open and welcoming
of older application,
older job workers as well?
Is there something in the environment
in your workplace that seems
to allow for ageist comments,
such as referring to people?
As dinosaurs or fossils or joking that
you can't teach an old dog a new trick,
or ultimately if there are layoffs
or corporate reorganization,
are all of the older people
the ones who are let go and
replaced by younger people?
Or are the younger people the only ones
being retained for their positions?
All of those can be signs of
age discrimination and work.
So, Bill, what are some steps
that older workers can take if
they think they're experiencing
workplace age discrimination?
Well, always document what
you see and what you hear,
preferably in real time,
while your memory is fresh.
Note when you heard or saw it.
What did you see? What did you hear?
Who else was there?
That's very important.
Then talk to your supervisor.
If this happens at work,
oftentimes you can resolve the
matter informally at that level.
If you can't,
you may need to go up the chain.
Work your formal HR
process with your company.
If that doesn't resolve the issue,
then you might want to talk to an attorney.
As I said earlier,
it's not just wrong.
It's illegal to discriminate on
the basis of age in the workplace,
and so you might decide that
you want to file a complaint
with the State Employment
Agency or the federal Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
and what resources and tools are
available to help protect older workers,
careers and job searches.
Well, this Thursday,
the 29th AARP is hosting a free online
career summit. You can register at
aarp.org/summit and there you will
find career panels, resources,
job opportunities and coaching to help
you understand what's available and how
to best position yourself for a job.
You can also look at our back to work
50 plus program from AARP Foundation,
which is AARP's charitable affiliate.
We have free workshops and
tools and coaching.
There as well, you may also be
interested in the AARP resume advisor
where you can send your resume again
for free to have someone review it and
provide you with advice to really help
make that much tighter and much more
persuasive for your next job opportunity.
As well as the AARP Job Board
which has job opportunities from
employers who are committed to a
work friendly work environment,
age friendly work environment,
all insightful and helpful information.
Thank you for joining us this
morning and for more resources.
Toolsvisitaarp.org/age discrimination.