For older workers, unemployment is harder

I ran across an acquaintance last week and discovered we had something in common: Each of us had been "let go" by our employers less than a decade before our anticipated retirements. And we certainly are not alone. In this current recession, millions of the unemployed are workers past middle age, laid off at a time when their thoughts and their aims were turning toward saving toward and budgeting for retirement. Now, instead, we are beating the bushes for companies willing to hire people of a certain age.

I've talked to a number of unemployed friends and acquaintances. Each has had stories to tell about being ignored or dismissed when his age became apparent to potential employers. One friend advised me to remove all references to age or dates from my resume. He had done that and had managed to get his foot in the door for interviews. But he also was convinced that at least once, one look at his gray hair changed him from a potential hire into a failed applicant. Thus far, I have kept dates in my resume because I think my years of experience are valuable, but it is beginning to appear that, to many potential employers, experience is a detriment.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 makes arbitrary job discrimination based on age illegal, but don't think the law eliminates age discrimination. I've been told that these lawsuits often drag on for years, even decades and can consume a plaintiff's life. And it is up to the plaintiff to prove discrimination, usually not an easy thing. Of all the people I know who've thought they were discriminated against because of their age, who were laid off or had their position eliminated while younger, less experienced employees in similar jobs were kept on or who were fired and replaced by a younger worker, only one actually filed suit against his former employer. In that case, he won a confidential out-of-court settlement that he couldn't tell me about except to say that he was satisfied with it.

Whether victims of discrimination or victims of economic changes, older workers face serious difficulties. Many have burdensome mortgages or children in college. Some are caring for both children and parents. Younger workers tend to be more resilient and more mobile, with fewer roots in a particular community, making them available for more jobs. The older, well-planted unemployed have a different perspective. As my jobless acquaintance told me last week, it's difficult fighting the frustration and genuine depression that comes when, after a lifetime of self-sufficiency, dedication and proven value, you find that no employer wants to hire you and few will even offer you an interview, regardless of your skills and abilities.