Reference no: EM13235014

In years gone by, most people worked either until they became disabled or until they died. Disabled workers were usually cared for by family members. There was no such thing as retirement unless a person was independently wealthy and could, therefore, live off the income from his or her investments. With the advent of Social Security, when individuals retire they are entitled to a small amount of income. As pensions became more prevalent, workers were guaranteed a defined benefit. The income from Social Security and the pension enabled people to survive after mandatory retirement. How well they survived depended upon the size of their pension and of their investment income. Pensions remained fixed because they were not adjusted for inflation. Social Security recipients received cost-of-living adjustments. Investment income has a built-in guard against inflation.

Life expectancies have increased, and the majority of Americans now live beyond age 65. Surreptitiously prohibiting people from continuing to work because of their age when they are perfectly capable of doing so is discriminatory. The purpose of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act is to dispel this conduct and to give free access to the workplace to those people over the age of 65. Workers will be able to continue in their current jobs or to seek new employment elsewhere, thus broadening the pool of workers. As was stated, many older workers have special skills, knowledge, and experience. The freedom to employ these people is certainly a bonus for employers, especially those involved in the growing competitiveness of the global marketplace.

Human Resource Advice

• • Do not take age into account when making employment decisions.
• • Understand the purpose of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
• • Know that protection against age discrimination begins at age 40.
• • Consider that there is no longer mandatory retirement with few exceptions.
• • Realize that employees may work as long as they are competent to do so with few exceptions.
• • Refrain from coercing employees to accept early retirement packages.
• • Be careful not to discharge an inordinate number of older workers when downsizing.
• • Learn that the desire to project a more youthful and up-to-date image might have to give way to the rights of older workers.
• • Be aware that company policy may dictate the mandatory retirement age of high-level policy-making executives.