Question: Does your diversity and inclusion program embrace older workers?

Answer:

Many employers may hesitate a moment before answering that question.  Diversity and inclusion programs often focus on other protected classes.  However, employers should ensure that older workers also are considered and supported.  There have been a series of lawsuits against large American employers regarding their employment practices that allegedly favor younger workers and recent college graduates, to the detriment of older workers.

Most recently, Ikea was sued by a 54 year old hourly worker who claims he was not promoted to a management position because of his age.  The lawsuit was brought on behalf of a proposed class of employees to seek redress for Ikea’s alleged systemic denial of advancement opportunities to older hourly retail workers .  Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that “IKEA has engaged in a company-wide, institutional policy of denying training, development, and advancement opportunities to its older employees.”

The Age Discrimination in Employe Act (ADEA) protects employees age 40 or over with respect to any term, condition or privilege of employment.  Some common examples of age discrimination include:

• Showing a preference for hiring younger workers,
• Letting older workers go during layoffs or restructuring,
• Offering younger workers better terms or conditions of employment, or
• Excluding older workers from new training initiatives.

To avoid being the next IKEA, and to ensure diversity and inclusion programs cover all bases, make certain that your policies and practices strive to make decisions equally across age groups.  Rather than writing off older workers as “overly qualified,” especially if they seek positions that may be considered a step down, consider whether older workers actually could be an asset.  If so, use recruiting messages that seek “mature” or “experienced” candidates, which may convey that older workers are desired.  Likewise, with four generations of workers now working side by side, employers need to learn not only to recognize and accept the traits of each generation but also to provide training and education to assist them to coexist productively.

About the Author:  Laura Liss (lliss@pfs-law.com) is Chair of Patzik Frank and Samotny’s Employment Law Practice Group. She provides both legal and practical business advice on all phases of employment-related decisions. She regularly serves as a sounding board for business owners, executives and human resources professionals and assists them in successfully and efficiently navigating the various employment laws that impact their businesses.