chapter 13 - age Flashcards
Is it true that it is easier for older experienced workers to gain new employment when laid off?
Research evidence
Perception—Older workers are incompetent, unable and unwilling to learn, accident and injury prone, and have lower performance.
Findings—Incidence of accidents and injuries at work: A higher risk exists for younger and newly hired employees due to lack of experience.
Bachman said layoffs can impose lasting financial consequences on older workers. “Not only do you get laid off, but now you’re faced with serious financial uncertainty because it’s going to be that much harder to find a new job,” he said.
great risk
What is Bridge employment?
hiring retired older workers who remain a part of the workforce
purpose– to address worker shortages and skill losses due to mass retirement and layoffs
Know facts surrounding training older workers.
One particular concern for older workers is access to training and development. Older workers are sometimes denied training and development opportunities because of two key misperceptions about the length of time of they will remain in the workforce and their ability and desire to learn. Because older workers are perceived as being near to retirement, many people believe that training older workers is not a good investment of employers’ resources. In contrast, and consistent with changes in ideas about the benefits of long tenure with one employer, younger workers are more likely to turn over than older workers.
Misperception: Older workers will retire soon after being trained; therefore, employers should not invest training dollars in them.
Reality: Younger workers have higher turnover rates than older workers.
The second misperception, that older workers are unwilling and unable to learn new technologies, is also unsupported by research. In their study of Germans working in a variety of industries, Kunze, Boehm, and Bruch found that, contrary to their hypothesis, older workers were not more resistant to change than younger worker
Given the relationships among training and development, performance, promotion, and job retention, denying training to older workers or discouraging them from engaging in training can negatively affect them and their employers significantly. Inclusive organizations would be well advised to make training and development decisions based on criteria other than age. Some companies purposely hire older employees, seeking benefits such as lower turnover and absenteeism, lower inventory damage and theft, and higher profits.
What is the Older Worker’ Protection Act?
In 1990, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) further amended the ADEA. The OWBPA allows employers to lower the benefits offered to older workers as long as the cost of providing those benefits is the same as providing (higher) benefits for younger workers. As is the case of requiring reasonable accommodations without undue hardship for employment of people with disabilities under the ADA, the OWBPA is evidence of lawmakers’ intention to protect workers while not unduly burdening employers.
Can age be a BFOQ?
yes
When age is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ), failing to hire, discharging, or forcing retirement on certain selected types of employees is not illegal. Included are executives, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and others working in positions involving public safety or transportation. Employers may force those executives who have reached age 65 and would receive at least $44,000 in retirement earnings to retire. Employers may also set maximum ages for hiring and mandatory ages for retirement of firefighters, law enforcement officers, and public safety or transportation personnel (e.g., bus drivers or air traffic controllers). Former airline pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger was 57 when the flight he was piloting was struck by a flock of large geese and both engines lost power
When employers use age as a BFOQ, the burden of proof that the conditions of business necessity are met rests on the employer. The employer must also demonstrate that substantially everyone who reaches a certain age is limited in the ability to perform the job and that distinguishing among those who could perform the job would be impractical. Even actions that are “legitimate” due to BFOQs should be carefully scrutinized by organizations pursuing diversity and inclusion. Doing so can be beneficial for individual employees and applicants, the organizations that employ them, and society.
What are some facts regarding age and gender according to the text?
Older women at work
Perceptions:
Women become old at younger ages than men do.
Older men are more intellectual, and older women are more nurturing.
Preference for younger workers and male workers severely disadvantages older women:
Increases the likelihood of living in poverty
Has current birth rates impacted the number of people entering the workforce?
Fewer births mean fewer workers. Along with workplace age discrimination and less worker immigration, U.S. companies can’t find enough workers to fill vacancies
