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"young," "new," or "fresh" image) there is no legal basis for using age as a factor in making employment decisions.

Since the ADEA has been in place, the number of cases of age discrimination filed with the EEOC has simply been increasing. It is impossible to tell if the increase of cases is because the workforce is aging, if workers are becoming more confident in reporting misconduct, or if it is simply because age discrimination is becoming more of a problem. Regardless of the cause, age discrimination is becoming an unavoidable phenomenon in the workforce. According to the EEOC 17,405 complaints of age discrimination were received in 2001. This number accounts for 22 percent of all discrimination complaints, including race, gender, religion, and disability received by the EEOC. This number is a bit deceiving, however. On behalf of those complaints, just over 400 suits were actually filed. Furthermore, many of these cases often end negatively for the plaintiff (only 8.2 percent of cases were found to have reasonable cause by the court). There is a positive outlook, however, since 1996 that number has been steadily increasing, as has the amount of money awarded in such cases.

The increasing numbers of older workers in the workplace will require employers to rethink their practices. Not only will their attitudes towards aging workers be subject to change, but so will hiring and firing policies, as well as workforce dynamics and relations.

The Department of Labor projects that in the next few years the median age of the labor force will increase from 36 to 39. With the aging of the "baby boomers" the population, and therefore the workforce is aging. As the nation's population ages the need for older workers will be unavoidable, and employers will be forced to modify their current employment practices and provide incentives for older workers to remain in the workforce.

Works Cited

American Association of Retired Persons. "Recognize Age Discrimination in Employment." 9 December 2002. .

Developments in Aging: 1992, Volume 1: A Report of the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate. April 20, 1993.

Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology. Mass: Allyn and Bacon, 2000. pgs 211-214, 261-267.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. February 22, 2002. "Enforcement Statistics and Litigation". 8 December 2002. < http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/adea .html>.

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