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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Demographics are creating potential problems for employers in terms of age discrimination claims.
Between the 2000 and the 2010 U.S. census, for instance, U.S. residents age 60 and older increased to 18.5% of the population from 16.3% as baby boomers increasingly moved into the senior age brackets.
As the population ages, there is “going to be an increased focus” on age discrimination claims, said Diana Hoover, a partner with law firm Hoover Kernell L.L.P. in Houston.
Jeffrey D. Polsky, a partner with law firm Fox Rothschild L.L.P. in San Francisco, said “The workforce is obviously aging, and when an older employee leaves the workforce, more often than not they're going to be replaced by somebody younger.”
Employers “need to ... be sure that they can link to a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason why a particular employee wasn't meeting their expectations,” he said.
Age discrimination charges filed against employers, while certainly not new, continue to plague firms and are expected to increase, as financially strapped baby boomers linger in the workplace.