Age Discrimination Blunders That Could Cost Your Small Business Everything – Part I
Even the most well-intentioned companies can stumble into legal pitfalls when it comes to age discrimination. In 1987, 11% of adults over age 65 were working, but today 19% are employed today. Older workers can bring specialized and unique talent to your small business. Most business owners intentionally work to create a fair and inclusive workplace, but sometimes unconsciously discriminate by incorporating bias. In this two-part blog post, we provide relevant fact and figures about older workers, benefits of recruiting and retaining older workers and the legal consequences of age discrimination.
Facts & Figures
Today, older workers represent over 23% of the workforce and this number is projected to increase. This group of workers bring valuable experience and expertise necessary to help organizations thrive. According to Pew Research, there are several reasons why older Americans continue to remain in the workforce more than they used to.
Higher Education: Older workers are more educated than in the past. Adults with higher levels of education are more likely to be employed than adults with less education.
Better Healthcare: Older adults are healthier overall and less likely to have a disability than in the past due to advancements in healthcare.
Defined Contribution Plans: Defined contribution plans offered today, like 401(k)s, do not incentivize workers to retire at a specific age like the old-fashioned pension plans offered in the past.
Social Security Changes: The change for Social Security benefits to start at age 67 instead of age 65 have encouraged older adults to delay retirement and continue working longer.
Flexible Jobs: Many jobs have become more “age-friendly” and flexible since 1990 due to less strenuous physical activity required, greater independence, and more flexible work schedules. Several flexible jobs such as receptionist, insurance sales agent, insurance claims adjuster, proofreader and financial manager do not require heavy physical exertion.
The Benefits of Age Diversity
Age diversity can bring significant benefits to your small business:
A broader range of expertise, knowledge, and leadership are required when first starting your business.
Improved problem-solving and decision-making that increases productivity.
Enhanced mentoring opportunities available in-house who can mentor and provide knowledge transfer to other workers.
More connections that can be valuable to your business.
Additional life experience typically means a strong work ethic, stability, and loyalty to your business.
The Costly Consequences of Age Discrimination
Several recent cases by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) serve as a stark reminder of the importance of fostering an age-inclusive environment. The EEOC:
Sued a retirement community that fired a 78-year receptionist, who had worked there for 14 years, for not sharing her retirement date after having a brief hospital stay.
Settled for $460,000 with a medical device manufacturer for firing a human resources director and replacing her with two younger workers after she questioned the company about its plans to replace older workers with a younger, less-qualified workforce.
Settled for $2.4 million with a pharmaceutical company for failing to hire older applicants for sales positions because of a goal to have 40% of new hires be “early career” candidates and to add more Millennials.
Conclusion
More older Americans participate in the workforce today for varied reasons and they bring great value to businesses. Blending diversity is key for small businesses and being age-inclusive is just one way to accomplish this blend. In the next blog post, we will discuss common areas of age-discrimination blunders.
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