Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 24 May 2019
Older Americans more likely to cite workplace discrimination

By ANDREW SOERGEL less likely to get a call back.
For The Associated Press "There's some evidence of
CHICAGO (AP) — Are older age discrimination against
workers being discriminat- men, but more so men at
ed against on the job? The retirement age rather than
answer appears to depend men at age 50," Button
on the age of the person says.
asked. The federal Age Discrimi-
About half of Americans nation in Employment Act
think there's age discrimi- bars discrimination in the
nation in the workplace, workplace on the basis of
according to a poll by The age. A recent decision by
Associated Press-NORC the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of
Center for Public Affairs Re- Appeals in Chicago said
search. that only current employ-
But there's a split by age. ees can be protected by
The poll finds 60% of adults certain elements of the
age 60 and over say older statute, effectively loosen-
workers in the U.S. are al- ing the restrictions on em-
ways or often discriminated ployers screening older
against, while 43% of adults individuals out of their ap-
younger than 45 say the plicant pool. "Hiring discrim-
same. ination — you almost never
"I just think they're not really have any proof. If you think
aware of it," says Wendy about how people look for
Sachs, 48, an author and jobs these days, it's almost
speaker. She often has dis- all online," says Laurie Mc-
cussed her own experienc- Cann, a senior attorney at
es with age discrimination the AARP Foundation. "You
applying for and working at Kevin Kusinitz, a 63-year-old New Yorker who spent years being rejected from jobs for which send your resume off into
New York City startup com- he felt overqualified following an August 2012 layoff, poses for a photo on New York's East River, a black hole. Maybe you
panies. Wednesday, May 22, 2019. receive a reply that thanks
Federal law bars age dis- Associated Press you for your application,
crimination in employment. but you have no idea why
Yet three-quarters of adults television shows through at an advantage. Nearly workers would fill her role you were screened out or
60 and older — and 65% Central Casting New York, half of those under 30 and for less pay. who got the job ahead of
of those between ages 45 and he says his wife "makes about one-third of those Meanwhile, the survey you. It's very hard to prove."
and 59 — say they believe a good salary" to help sup- age 30 to 44 say they feel shows 75% of women over Even as most older adults
their age puts them at a dis- port them. But after his ini- their age is a benefit. 45 say their age puts them say older workers face dis-
advantage when looking tial layoff at 56, he says he Sachs applied for a handful at a disadvantage when crimination at work, 21% of
for work. One in 10 adults spent years unsuccessfully of startup jobs in New York looking for work, compared adults 60 and over do say
60 and over and about 2 trying to land a job. about five years ago. She with 65% of older men. they feel more respected
in 10 of those age 45 to 59 He believes his age was says she was often com- "For women, we see an at work because of their
say they have been passed a primary reason his job peting against 20-some- early onset (cases of age age. The survey also finds
over for a raise, promotion search failed to gain trac- things for positions and discrimination), and the dis- only about 1 in 10 of adults
or chance to get ahead tion. As he filled out one was at times made to feel crimination is much more over 60 are worried about
specifically because of particular online applica- like an outsider because of severe," says Patrick Button, their ability to do their job.
their age. tion, he was asked to select her age. She recounts one an assistant economics William Moore, a 77-year-
"They look at you kind of his birth year from a drop awkward exchange with professor at Tulane Univer- old resident of Washington
strange as you apply for down menu. He discov- a younger hiring manager sity. "I think there is a lot of state, says he began work-
a job. And I immediately ered the menu didn't go who dismissed the physical sexism in aging." ing at an Enterprise Rent-a-
know 'Oh, well, I'm not go- back far enough for him to resume she'd brought to Button and his fellow re- Car outfit after retiring as a
ing to get hired,'" says Kevin enter an accurate date. her interview, instead insist- searchers mocked up mechanic.
Kusinitz. The 63-year-old "I think it only went back to ing on a digital copy. and distributed more than "The only issue was, were
New Yorker spent years be- the 1970s. I thought 'Wow, Sachs eventually landed 40,000 fake job applica- you able to do the job. If
ing rejected from jobs for I'm not even in the drop- a position but was let go tions to online postings. you were doing it a little
which he felt overqualified down range. I really am shortly thereafter. She says They found that resumes slower, OK, we do it slower,"
after an August 2012 layoff. old,'" he says. she was led to believe her designed to look like they he says. "I think (age dis-
Kusinitz now works a few By comparison, younger experience commanded belonged to an older ap- crimination) might be an is-
days each week as a back- adults are more likely to too high a salary and that plicant, particularly an old- sue in some jobs, but I didn't
ground actor in movies and think their age puts them younger, less experienced er female applicant, were see it in mine."q

EDITOR'S NOTE — Andrew Soergel is studying aging and workforce issues as part of a 10-month fellowship at The Associated Press-NORC Center for
Public Affairs Research, which joins NORC's independent research and AP journalism. The fellowship is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
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The AP-NORC Center survey of 1,423 adults was conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research with funding from
the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It was conducted Feb. 14 to 18 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is
designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.
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Online:
AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org