The Commission heard testimony from a number of experts on the impact of the economic crisis on older workers, the legal issues surrounding age discrimination today, and best practices to retain older workers. Dr. William Spriggs, Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, testified that the rate of unemployment for people age 55 and over “rose from a pre-recession low of 3.0 percent (November 2007) to reach 7.3 percent in August, 2010, making the past 22 months the longest spell of high unemployment workers in this age group have experienced in 60 years.” Older workers also spend far more time searching for work and are jobless for far longer periods of time compared to workers under 55.

Assistant Secretary Spriggs’ testimony reflected the experience of Jessie Williams, who had worked for 31 years in Las Vegas at Republic Services, a multi-million dollar waste disposal company. After more than three decades of stellar employment, he was terminated along with four other foremen over 40. He testified, “I was told that I wasn’t needed any longer . . . [and] that they were going to ‘get rid of the old foremen and get some new blood.’” Following his discharge, Mr. Williams had to move out of state to find employment. He later became part of the EEOC’s suit against Republic filed on behalf of more than 20 workers discharged due to their age. The case was ultimately settled for nearly $3 million.

Read full article here

I am knowledgeable of an individual who works for a very high profile government contractor on the West Coast.  This individual was hired on years ago as the Fire Marshall for several different locations and facility around the town he is employed in.  This gentlemen served in the roles of Captain of the local Fire Department for over 20 years, Code Enforcement Inspector with the state and county, Code Enforcement on the East Coast, Fire Captain with the County again and presently as Fire Marshall. 

Recently the company he works for has stripped him from most of his essential duties including supervising staff, timekeeping, making decisions regarding fire code, acting positions (where his deputy, which he hired was placed in charge of him), and have stopped including him in management related decisions.  These actions were taken in spite of the fact that he has an excellent performance rating and evaluation, received a pay increase/promotion within the past year and a half, was the sole individual responsible for getting this company through some major inspections by the Federal Government, etc. 

His first and second level managers have also asked him several times over the past couple of months, since just before all this started, “(Name) when are you going to retire?  Probably soon, huh?” Sounds like a pretty good set up for a constructive discharge to me.  Get someone so frustrated and make the workplace so unbearable you finally quit because you can’t take it anymore.  The individual serving as Fire Marshall is in his 60′s and the individual they have been pruning is considerably younger than he is. 

Some things I would highly recommend (my personal opinion) to individuals serving in similar situations:

1. Make sure you maintain good notes including time, date, location and exact situation as it occurred, word for word if possible.
2. If you have witnesses make sure you record who they are and how to reach them.
3. Ensure you are completely familiar with your company/agency EEO process and procedures.  Know the statutory time limits for filing complaints of discrimination and when to make EEO contact.
4. Do not resign from your position until the EEO process is through if at all possible.
5. Obtain legal counsel to be your advocate as they know how the system works and can best represent you.

More information is available through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Website.

-Ray Campbell –

http://eeodiversity.wordpress.com/

TULSA, Okla. — St. John Health System, Inc. of Tulsa will pay $100,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that the company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to reasonably accommodate a hearing-impaired operating room scrub technician.

According to the EEOC’s suit, LaQuita Reherman had been employed by St. John for approximately six years when she was removed from her scrub technician position in March 2006 after several physicians complained about her being hard of hearing. Reherman wears hearing aids in both ears, the EEOC said, but would have been able to hear doctors’ instructions adequately if it were not for their practice of playing loud music in the operating room. These disturbances, coupled with her hearing impairment, caused the problems, the EEOC said.

Reherman made it known to St. John that she needed assistance in finding another position, but the hospital made no effort to assist her. The hospital simply put her in another position temporarily and then told her to find a new job in the hospital system, the EEOC said. St. John terminated Reherman in June 2006 after she proved unable to find a vacant position

Read full article at EEOC

The Executive Order creates an interagency Council on Veterans Employment that will advise the President and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management on the veterans’ employment initiative. The Order also establishes a Veterans Employment Program office within most federal agencies. These offices will be responsible for helping veterans identify employment opportunities within those federal agencies, providing feedback to veterans about their employment application status, and helping veterans recently employed by these agencies adjust to civilian life and a workplace culture often different than military service.

See excerpt below:

President Obama Launches Major Veterans Employment Initiative
Initiative Would Transform Federal Government into Model of Veterans Employment

Washington, DC – Today, the White House announced the launch of an initiative that is designed to transform the federal government into the model employer of America’s veterans. This evening, President Obama will be joined by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry to sign an Executive Order on the Employment of Veterans in the federal government, which establishes the Veterans Employment Initiative for the Executive Branch. The Initiative underscores to federal agencies the importance of recruiting and training veterans, aims to increase the employment of veterans within the Executive Branch, and helps recently hired veterans adjust to service in a civilian capacity.

“Honoring our sacred trust with America’s veterans means doing all we can to help them find work when they come home so they never feel as if the American Dream they fought to defend is out of reach for them and their families,” said President Obama. “But this initiative is about more than repaying our debt for their courageous service and selfless sacrifice. It’s also about continuing to fill the ranks of federal employees with men and women who possess the skills, dedication, and sense of duty that Americans deserve from their public servants. And few embody those qualities like our nation’s veterans.”

Read entire White House Press Release

• How much information may an employer request from an employee who calls in sick, in order to protect the rest of its workforce when an influenza pandemic appears imminent?
• When may an ADA-covered employer take the body temperature of employees during a pandemic?
• Does the ADA allow employers to require employees to stay home if they have symptoms of the pandemic influenza virus?
• When employees return to work, does the ADA allow employers to require doctors’ notes certifying their fitness for duty?

Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is updating the Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law (EEO) notice with mandatory changes pursuant to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). GINA will prohibit employers’ use of genetic information, restrict employers’ acquisition of genetic information, and strictly limit disclosure of genetic information. All employers with 15 or more employees will be required to update their EEO posting effective November 21, 2009

More information can be obtained by clicking below:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Updates EEO Notice Per Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)

EEO News – Employment Law Case Headlines