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Subscribe by EmailThose Aging Baby Boomers: Age of Opportunity Or Time to Sue?
Yep, I’m now a card-carrying AARP member. When my wife, who just became eligible as a member handed me an AARP card with my name on it, my first thought was: “Throw it away, I’m way too young for this. I’ll send it to my mother.” Then I thought: “Well, that’s cool. I can get some discounts!”
Some have predicted that those aging baby boomers are going to have a lot of great job opportunities, given the shrinking number of workers (isn’t that why Social Security is in big trouble?). The off-shoring trend, however, may well prevent that from happening any time soon.
What may be more likely is increasing layoffs targeting older workers, especially given the many stereotypes that exist about older workers. This article provides a nice overview of some thinking on the subject of age discrimination, especially in light of the case in front of the Supreme Court on age and disparate impact (see our previous posting here).
The article argues that:
Many legal experts believe a flood of new class actions could result if the court rules older workers can sue on the grounds of disparate impact, and not just over intentional discrimination.
When deciding what damages to award to a worker, courts look at a plaintiff’s salary and at the likelihood he or she can find another good-paying job to offset the loss of the old one. Generally, the greater the economic damage caused by discriminatory behavior, the greater the monetary awards granted by the courts.
Because older workers generally earn more than younger ones, and because it often takes them longer to find a comparable job and salary, their financial damages will be relatively greater.
For more thoughts, read here.
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Nobody can predict the future, and there have definitely been contradictory predictions on this issue.
Couple things to bear in mind that suggest actual discrimination (as distinct from discrimination charges at EEOC) may not increase: 1) there are some very positive stereotypes of older workers as well (dependable, good work ethic); and 2) there are some negative stereotypes of younger workers (slackers, job-hoppers).