Under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act passed by Congress in 1967 is suppose to protect citizens 40 years of age and older from illegal termination based on their age. However, age discrimination does exist in the workforce to this day. There are numerous examples of older employees who have been with the company a long time being let go and then replaced with a younger employee for a lower salary.

Many companies have found means to get around this law and continue to terminate its older workforce to save on benefits and salaries as well as pensions. One company operating in South Carolina laid off several employees citing the need to downsize. What was interesting was four out of the five employees were over sixty years of age and approaching retirement. Another interesting fact was the company was able to find a new position in their organization at another facility for the employee that was under the age of sixty. The company was not able to find positions in other locations for the other four. Therefore, by including an employee under the age of forty, the company avoided an age discrimination lawsuit. Small severance packages were provided to the four employees over the age of sixty that were laid off to stall off any thoughts of lawsuits.

After these employees were laid off the company replaced them with younger employees for a lower salary. That brings up the question about the need to downsize in the first place.

What did this and other companies who practice the same procedure gain? Not having to pay pensions, employees working for a reduced salary and fewer benefits. What did they lose? Years of knowledge and experience. Many employees know from trail and error what works and what does not work and there is increased productivity by not redoing past mistakes. Plus the employees with the experience already know the procedures that the company has in place. These employees should be willing to go to school to train and update their skills periodically to maintain their level of professionalism.

While companies exist to make a profit, they should not do so at the expense of its loyal workforce. It takes money to train a new employee to do the same job as the replaced employees and time on the job to achieve the same level of productivity. Companies should work smarter not harder in their businesses.

Learn more about this author, Carole Ligi.
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