Comments for The Age Discrimination (Is Real) Blog

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by admin

admin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:59:42 +0000

Sour Grapes…Whatcom is indeed a a very unfriendly place for us in respect to employment. And heres is the problem with doing something about it…no lawyer is interested in taking our cases. If we were able to put a sizable retainer on the table, the lawyers would line up for tickets to represent us.

My solution is now to be a pro se plaintiff. No one knows our case and situation like ourselves. By learning how to navigate the rules of the court, by getting legal aid assistance on the statutes violated, by reading a book (as I did) by Gerry Spense on how to prepare, cross examine and present yor case, we can at least put a scare into a law breaking employer and cost him/her money, possibly bad press, and having to sit through a deposition that WE conduct. It’s not that hard and ultimately, if we can get to Federal court, we can have a jury of our peers passing judgement. This is a civil rights matter. That makes it very serious. I’m doing it.

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by Reporter1

Reporter1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:03:31 +0000

Interesting Comment from My Neighbor

We were talking one day, and I mentioned the age discrimination I was discovering. He too was having the same issues.
He then told me about someone he had worked with on a contract a year or so ago. That person too had previously experienced age discrimination.
He was an employee in a local business (I’m hiding the type and details so that it can’t be identified), when one day he was asked to meet with the area manager and was informed his position had been eliminated, and he was terminated. He left. (We’ll call him ‘Harry’.)
About two weeks later, he went back to the business to do some personal business (he was still a customer of the business), and looked into his old office, and here was a young man about 25 years old sitting at it. (We’ll call him ‘Jason’.) Harry decided to investigate, so he walked directly to his old desk and asked if the young man could help him with a quotation; to which the Jason was happy to oblige.
Harry sat down and stated, “Gee you must like working here. It looks like a great place to work. How did you get the job?” Jason replied, that he simply applied to an ad, interviewed, and they hired him. Harry asked if he knew what happened to the person he replaced. Jason told him that he heard that the previous employee had simply not shown up for work one day, and they decided to let him go.
Harry took all the papers and information Jason offered, and left. Curious whether or not this situation was unique to him or the business, Harry decided to do some investigating of the other four offices of the business in his city. Low and behold, each office had done the same thing, fired an older worker, telling them their job had been eliminated, and then replacing them with younger workers doing the same work.
Harry organized those who were layed off, and sought legal help.
Long story short, Harry and his ex-coworkers sued. They eventually settled for a combined settlement netting each of them $1 million plus expenses about two years later.
So, if you are thinking standing up for yourself isn’t worth it, maybe you want to reconsider.
Stand Up for Yourself, Your Family, and Your Rights!!!

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by Sour Grapes

Sour Grapes — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:37:20 +0000

Interesting blog. I am located in the “we prefer younger” capital of Whatcom County also. I was looking for an Age Decimation Blog and low and behold this one is right here in my own neighborhood! I’ve been looking for employment for a few months now after being “TERMINATED” without cause. My previous employer finds woman over 40, not worthy of employment. Something I watched for many years but didn’t think it would happen to me. Then guess what….. This past summer 3 of us let go without reason, this past year 5 were past up for advancement for younger men. A company of 500 employees with small pods of females over 40 clutched into groups which are hidden from the customers, all 23 of 25 managers are men. The women over 40 group are generally located in production. Low pay, mandatory overtime, but when it comes to older women; we are flexible, appreciative of the penny’s they throw our way.

It’s very interesting interviewing with the youngersters who are now managers in the job search world. In my earlier years I was less intimidated and impressed by their youth and their ambition. Now I feel rather pathetic, trying to reinvent myself to fit the older employee stereotype that would be most desirable in a younger workforce. Do I emphasize my children are grown or would this leave me out of the loop with the day care group? Do I list all the jobs I’ve held in order to raise my children without daycare or would this mean that I put my family first? Should I color my hair to cover the gray? Oh, and what’s a good comeback for “why did you leave your last job?” The answer I would love to shoot back is completely inappropriate- Well if I was 15 years younger, wore my skirts shorter, knew how to kiss ass better, was more shy, more needy, more “with it”, I wouldn’t be sitting here interviewing across from someone half my age.

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by Reporter1

Reporter1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:37:47 +0000

To Bizblogger:
The issue is not ‘money’. If money was the issue, they would be hiring us in droves. Seniors are known for showing up on time, working harder than our juionrs, working more cost effectively because we are experienced and knowledgeable and don’t have a learning curve; we don’t spend our time being distracted, and we are well groomed, less likely to have alcohol or drug problems, and believe it or not, even though we are getting older, we are still far more fit on average than our over weight juniors. All of that boils down to cost savings for the employer.
Yet, even though business are short on qualified workers due to retiring Boomers, and they have a growing number of open positions, they still refuse to hire us. Therein lies the issue, the unspoken problem, the truth.
No, no, no; don’t for a minute think it’s the money. It’s subjective discrimination, objectively provable; and it will continue until people like me and you stand up and ACT.

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by Reporter1

Reporter1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:27:40 +0000

Two things to cover with this posting:
1) I’m not getting anywhere as many reports as I know you people are experiencing. What’s going on? I know they are out there. Do you think you are going to create change by sitting on the sidelines and being a whimp about this issue? Stand up and do something! Contribute! We’re the Boomer Generation; we’ve spent our lives changing this world. Don’t give up now.
2) I filed my first age discrimination claim. Let me tell you what I found.
You have to file either a state or federal EEOC claim (in our state it’s a Human Rights Claim at the state level), before you can file a civil law suit.
So I did that. In sending them a terse statement of the issues and supporting evident of twelve pages, from the local federal EEOC office I received back a restatement of my claim, which was boiled down by their staff to three statements, two of which were inaccurate.
I called them to clarify, only to discover that as they stated office has a total staff of five people and they receive over one THOUSAND claims a month. Obviously, that’s not going to get the job done.
I mention this because everyone reading this needs to understand just how understaffed this administration has left this agency. The result is less-than-optimum representation.
I ask you, please write your legislators and make them aware of this. The day you will need their services is not far off. Don’t let yourself down. Stand Up! Get Involved!!

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by admin

admin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:02:09 +0000

Somebody is listening to you.

This site has added to the list:

Top 100 Civil Liberties Advocacy Blogs

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by bizblogger

bizblogger — Sat, 31 May 2008 13:56:29 +0000

If you have any success in getting this recruiter to speak with you, I’d be interested in their comments. The fact that he knows it’s wrong, though would seem to point towards a reluctance to speak with you. I think we all know the logic about why the recruiter just looks the other way. Money.

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by Reporter1

Reporter1 — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:56:54 +0000

Thank you for the lead.If there are any others, I would appreciate hearing about them.

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by admin

admin — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:03:15 +0000

I read a blog spot this morning that appears on the "in the news" widget on the right sidebar, that is entitled "Age Discrimination Happens".

It's a recruiter who gets instruction from his client regarding the age of recruits, and the recruiter knows it's wrong, but says "what can I do?".

This maybe sounds like someone you might be interested to speak with given your fine project's work and who are looking to interview.

Comment on Readers Blog On Age Discrimination by Reporter1

Reporter1 — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:39:51 +0000

Those of us old enough to be affected are quite aware of this ubiquitous practice of age discrimination. It’s a ‘given’.

What we also know is that to simply discuss it solves nothing. We have been ‘discussing’ the illegality, the unjustness, the overwhelming loss to society because of it, for far too long. What we also know is that litigation in the current (US) environment isn’t going to happen without very deep pockets on the part of the plaintiff.

Therefore, it appears to me that the most efficient course to pursue is one in the ‘court of the public prevue’. To that end, I am gathering info, reliable info, in order to present a series of articles on the current state of American Age Discrimination.

To that end, I am NOT looking for information regarding instances of age discrimination — we all have those. There are millions of them.

At this point in the discovery, I am seeking to hear from those who have been on the ‘other side of the table’; those who have been involved in the hiring process, or a part of it; and, who have seen, witnessed, been part of age discrimination as it took place in the course of the hiring function.

I know that for every case of age discrimination, there are at least two participants. The one fouled, and the ‘fouler’. I am looking to hear from the ‘fouler’.

I also know that age discrimination occurs blatantly, and it occurs far-less-blatantly. It can be an avoidance behavior or action. It can be an ‘unspoken’ practice. It can be a masked process, covered up by a set of guidelines or prescribed set of rules that can’t be declared biased individually, but when looked at in a broader context, create the same results. There may be a number of rationales; but rarely do any of them stand the test of reality when objectively challenged. It is these ‘hidden’ or ‘unspoken’ practices that I seek to gain knowledge of.

You might be thinking, “Why would someone indict themselves?” Well, it’s not always the case. I believe that many times, one employee is required to follow policies that are not ‘right’, but they haven’t any say in whether they are required to follow and abide by those erroneous acts. We know that those people will probably move on to other work, other employers, or even leave the workforce in time. Once they leave that employer, they may very well be willing to provide insight and factual information of how the illegal and unethical practices are carried out. (I believe there are still a few people out there who believe in doing ‘the right thing’.)

If you would like to participate in my research and discovery, you can email me at reporterdiscovering@gmail.com.

Hope to hear from you soon.