Boomers Not Going Quietly into Retirement
The year is still young, but there are already indications that it could turn out to be one marked by some high-profile allegations of age discrimination – cases that might just portend for the future. Just consider these few recent examples:
In January, a manufacturing engineer filed suit against Agilent Technologies Inc. The engineer claimed he was fired just before his 55th birthday in favor of younger, less-qualified engineers. The suit, some commentators say, is a strike at the youth culture in Silicon Valley and in IT positions in general (Coe, 2007).
Then in March, it was reported that some of the stars who have graced the Grand Ole Opry for decades claim that, despite its name, the country music venue does not like “ole” singers and is shoving them aside for younger performers. Stonewall Jackson’s suit against the Opry claims $10 million in damages. A suit he filed earlier this year against the Opry manager and its owner claimed $20 million in damages (Gerome, 2007).
Even “The Donald” is not immune. Donald Trump, at age 60, is facing an age discrimination suit filed in January in which the 49-year-old plaintiff claims he was not considered as a potential contestant on The Apprentice television show because he was too old. The plaintiff, a technology manager, hopes to get class action status for his suit (Field, 2007).
These cases, and others like them, are merely the vanguard of more litigation to come, according to some commentators (Paton, 2007; Baldas, 2007; Smith, 2007).
Why?
The easy answer is the Baby Boomers are not only getting older but are willing and able, in terms of their health, to stay in the workforce (Baldas, 2007; Smith, 2007; Crain & Wickliff, 2007). And, as the Boomers age, they’re getting more aggressive about refusing to cede to young up-and-comers and are defending their rights to stay in the workplace and be treated fairly. Adding fuel to the fires are layoffs, which tend to hit the more highly paid. Those employees are generally older, and recent court decisions have made it easier for plaintiffs to pursue age bias suits (Baldas, 2007).
Another factor seems to be age bias itself – real or perceived. Such bias might start in the hiring process. One study, done in 2005 by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, found that “a younger worker was more than 40% more likely to be called for an interview than a worker aged 50 or older” (Paton, 2007). Another study of 612 U.S. employees by International Communications Research found that 22% of those surveyed said they knew of instances in which an employee was ridiculed because of age (Weinstein, 2006).
It isn’t just lower-level workers who worry about age bias. Older executives fear it as well, according to a survey by job recruiting network ExecuNet. Almost all respondents to the survey (90%) fear they will suffer age discrimination, while more than 60% say they believe age discrimination has become more prevalent since 2000 (Block & Armour, 2006).
But is age bias truly on the upswing in the U.S.? One employment attorney, Charles Joseph, reports a 50% increase in such complaints in the past few years (Baldas, 2007). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), however, has shown a decrease in the number of age bias complaints filed ever since the high of 19,921 in the 2002 fiscal year. Recently released figures show the EEOC received 37 fewer age complaints in the 2006 fiscal year than in the 2005 fiscal year when the agency received 16,585 complaints (U.S. EEOC, 2007). But this data might not mirror the private lawsuits filed in state courts.
Whether the trend line is up or down, employers want to avoid such suits, which can be extremely costly. General Electric got hit with an $11-million verdict in an age bias case last year. The city of Hollywood, FL, was stung last year by a $2.3-million verdict when a jury sided with decorated police officers who alleged they were denied promotions because of their age (Baldas, 2007). And those are only the most obvious expenses. Such suits include attorneys’ fees and loss of time as organizational members scramble to find documents and other items needed and take time off to testify.
How to avoid such suits? Education is a good place to begin dispelling the myths and stereotypes of aging (Maxwell, 2007). Education can, for example, head off a 20-something manager from telling a 50-something employee to turn up the volume on her Miracle Ear or to take the memory-enhancement herb gingko biloba (“Young,” 2007).
Another idea is to point out to employees and managers just how important older workers are and will be to the workforce. Some commentators (Greenberg & Pasternak, 1998; Stoddard, 2007) reference data sets showing that the 80-million retiring Baby Boomers will not be replaced by 50-million Gen Xers (Stoddard, 2007). According to the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College, the number of workers aged 55 to 64 will increase by 48% in the next five years. But, the Center says, the number of workers ages 20 to 24 will grow by only 1%. That’s going to make those Boomers increasingly important to the economy, they say (Peterson, 2007).
In short, a lot Boomers are likely to be needed in the workforce for some years to come, so it’s probably a good thing that many have no plans to go quietly off into retirement.
For more information:
For more on related issues, see the institute’s Age Discrimination Knowledge Center. This includes, among other things, a new highlight report. Related Knowledge Centers include The Generations at Work, Workplace Litigation Trends and Graying of Society.
Documents referenced in this TrendWatcher include the following:
Baldas, Tresa. “Age Bias Suits on the Rise with Older Employees Working Longer.” The National Law Journal. March 16, 2007.
Block, Sandra and Stephanie Armour. “Many Americans Retire Years Before They Want To.” USA TODAY. July 10, 2006.
Coe, Erin. “Suit Takes Aim at Silicon Valley’s Youth Culture.” Employment Law 360. January 5, 2007.
Crain, Gayla C. and A. Martin Wickliff Jr. “Baby Boomers Create Age Discrimination Challenges for Employers.” DrugNewswire.com. February 22, 2007.
Field, Chris. “Donald Is Sued for Ages of Sin.” New York Post. January 8, 2007.
Gerome, John. “Country Stars Accuse the Grand Ole Opry of Age Discrimination.” chron.com [Houston Chronicle-Associated Press]. March 8, 2007.
Greenberg, David H. and Jeremy Pasternak. “Age Discrimination in the Workplace.” The Successful California Accountant. Spring 1998.
Maxwell, Terry. “Does Intelligence Decline with Age?” Arizona Range News. March 17, 2007.
Weinstein, Margery. “Racism, Sexism, Ageism: Workplace Not Getting Any Friendlier.” Training. May 2006.
Paton, Nic. “US Employers Brace for Flood Of Age-Related Lawsuits.” management-issues. February 21, 2007.
Peterson, Jonathan. “Senators Search for Ways to Keep Boomers on the Job; Flexible Schedules and Other Changes May Be Needed to
Head Off a National Labor Shortage.” Los Angeles Times. March 6, 2007.
Smith, Allen. “Supreme Court Keeps Employers Off Balance.” HR News. March 20, 2007.
Stoddard, Scott. “With Baby Boomers Aging Fast, Firms May Face Labor Shortages; After Lean Hiring Years, Some Companies Urge Gray Brigade to Return.” Investors Business Daily. March 6, 2007.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) Charges FY 1997-FY2006.” February 26, 2007.
“Young Manager Harassing Baby Boomer Leads to EEOC Fine.” OregonLive.com. March 6, 2007.