Age Discrimination is Real

[ch7814]

I feel I was a victim of age discrimination on a recent job interview, I am 51 years old. I interviewed on 2/25 with a company in Philadelphia. I met with 2 people, first went fine. Second, the man sat with me for about 5 minutes or so and said "we're looking for a certain experience range and you're at the high end of it, I'll just leave it at that" and got up and walked out. My resume shows 20 years of work experience, which he had access to. While there, I noticed 4-5 other current employees (other than the 2 I met with and one other) who all appeared to be mid 20s.

[PatrickR720159]

Years ago, I heard one time on a podcast being broadcasted over the Internet about interviewing tips.  And the guy said that maybe if they are trying to look for a certain amount of experience, and you walk in there with grey hair, you may want to ask them if there is an upper age limit to work there.  If they say "yes", and they tell you that the maximum age limit is only in the upper 20s similar to American Idol's maximum age limit to audition which is 28, then they have proven to the public how stupid they can be.  At Mercy, there was a man who was about the age of 62 who worked in the Decontam department and he was let go because of his age.  Once one of the sisters found out, The one that let the 62-year-old man go got in trouble for age discrimination.  The youngster that fired the senior worker got written up and was ordered to hire the senior back. 

[SIGILMIND92]

What will AARP do about the 92 yr.old woman who was sucker punched dead in the face, hit a fire hydrant with her head, and looked back and offered no assistance. A very hateful, racial, angry idiot that never had manners. Are the elderly now target like the cops? What is being done??

[TamaraH570525]

This such a wide spread issue and it is being ignored. I think we should contact our state officials and complain. There is safety in numbers. I have contacted the Senators and Congressmen in Illinois to express my dissatisfaction with the way employees who are 50 and older are treated. I have also met a number of 50 and over individuals in my community who are in the same situation as I am.

The people I met had senior as well as middle management positions and of course 20 plus years of experience. So what do we do? We don't qualify for full retirement benefits. We are a ignored group of people and the United States should be ashamed. 

[PatD104587]

I lost a good paying job to a buyout, twice. I began looking for other types of positions. A company I applied with took me through several steps. I was exactly what they were looking for. After all the time I spent in this indeavour, we were at the last step, when "AGE" was asked. Almost  before I pressed the send button, I was told they had chosen a more qualified applicant. Looked up info in Tennessee on hiring. Employers get a credit for hiring ages up to 40. Sent Bill Bredeson an e-mail.  I, said, what about a tax break for the people who helped build these companies, who are experienced, mature, still healthy and want to work. Reply was, I I'll pass that on to the appropriate department to follow up.....still waiting........ for an answer. Obtained a position as Hman Resource Manager for Kroger. In training, young woman, "one that selected me", kept making comments about you can't say this about that, etc...even if someone is turning 65, "which I was", you can't say anything about it, while looking straight at me. Always made snide comments to me. Can't help it if I have taken care of myself and don't look my age. Age discrimination is very real. It is very demeaning and always in the back of our minds. We live in a world of disrespect.

[GailL1]

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@ch7814 wrote:

I feel I was a victim of age discrimination on a recent job interview, I am 51 years old.

. . . . . the man sat with me for about 5 minutes or so and said "we're looking for a certain experience range and you're at the high end of it, I'll just leave it at that" and got up and walked out. My resume shows 20 years of work experience, which he had access to.

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What do you think he meant by that comment ?

The ADEA law prohibits policies and practices that have a “disparate impact” on older workers. These are policies that appear to be age-neutral but fall more harshly on older workers. An example is a school district that announces it won’t hire teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Policies or practices that have a disproportionately adverse impact on older workers are unlawful unless the employer can prove they are based on a reasonable factor other than age.(RFOA)

https://www.aarp.org/work/employee-rights/info-02-2009/age_discrimination_fact_sheet.html 

https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/regulations/adea_rfoa_qa_final_rule.cfm 

[ch7814]

He was clearly telling me, in not so many words, that I am an older employee than what they are looking for. If it was a matter of me having more experience than they are looking for then why did they even schedule the interview? Did they look at my resume showing 20 years of experience and think I was some Doogie Howser type prodigy who started his career at 12? It was fairly clear from the second he walked in the door and saw me that he had no interest in me even being there.