By: Perry MacLennan
It is no secret that more U.S. workers are electing to put off retirement and remain in the workforce longer. Given the current labor shortage (lowest unemployment rate in 18 years), this is great news for companies as retaining experienced workers decreases turnover cost and provides immeasurable value in other areas of corporate performance.
However, there is a tendency among some companies to “get younger” since experienced workers are often the most highly compensated employees and the newer crop of workers are digital natives that tend to be more technologically fluent.
Given this context, it is unsurprising that age discrimination has become the hot-button workplace discrimination issue in the media (notwithstanding sexual harassment, of course). On June 26, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released a report titled The State of Older Workers and Age Discrimination 50 Years After the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. A few of the key takeaways:
South Carolina employers are advised to think critically when making decisions about your more experienced workers. Perhaps it is time for your organization to rethink outdated company policies about when a worker should retire, and rethink traditional “succession planning” measures that often disadvantage experienced workers. As more millennials enter the workforce, now is the time to think about how you onboard and train employees regarding stereotypes of the older generation.