Age Discrimination: Older Workers Worry About Hiring Bias

In the first 919 days that Jim Pawlak was out of work, he sent out 908 resumes and was called for fewer than 50 interviews. He has just one explanation: age discrimination. It’s a “first to be fired” and “last to be hired” syndrome, said the 48-year-old former Xerox employee.

The unemployment rate for older workers (those age 55+) remained unchanged at 5.9 percent in September, the Labor Department announced last week. But workers over age 55 made up 54 percent of the long-term unemployed — defined as people out of work for more than 27 weeks — up from 50.9 percent in August, according to an analysis by the AARP Public Policy Institute.

Moreover, older Americans stayed jobless longer — an average of nearly 56 weeks, compared to 37 weeks for younger workers. When they do find jobs, these employees typically take a bigger pay cut than their younger counterparts, according to a Government Accountability Office study released earlier this year.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects people 40 and older from employment discrimination based on age, and applies to both employees and job applicants. Age discrimination now accounts for nearly one-quarter of all complaints filed with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. An AARP survey found one-third to one-half of baby boomers had experienced age bias in a job search.

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