Last year, more than 8,000 age discrimination lawsuits were filed against companies with fewer than 500 employees, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). That number could surge in the next decade, as the Baby Boomer Generation--about half of the US workforce---gets older.
This past March, the Supreme Court made it easier for workers to file age discrimination claims in federal court. Business owners must now analyze how all of their policies and practices affect older workers, says Don Livingston, an attorney and former general counsel for the EEOC. He suggests applying the "four-fifths rule" to any policy or practice related to hiring, firing, promotions, layoffs, compensation, benefits, job assignments and training. If four out of every five employees adversely affected by a policy or practice are 40 or older, you could wind up in court, says Livingston.
Source: INC. Magazine, July 2005
John G. Agno, certified executive & business coach, www.MentoringandCoaching.com