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Today's Quote: Too Old to Get Hired?

By Lynne DeVenny

"I am (or was) a legal secretary with several years of experience (30+ years). ? I have applied to jobs that are more than one-half less than what I was earning. I search for a job each and every day. ? Where do people in my age bracket go? Too young not to work but too old to work?" ~ A woman from Warren County, New Jersey wrote to the Senate in an attempt to help get the jobs bill, H.R. 4213, passed.

The Washington Independent has published a thoughtful article about age discrimination as a serious obstacle for older workers that have been unemployed for an extended period of time, many part of a growing group called the "99ers" because their unemployment benefits have run out.

I've heard from a number of my readers in their 50s, down-sized from good legal jobs, and now unable to become re-employed in the legal field - or anywhere else. They do feel that their age is a hurdle. Some aren't getting interviews, and some are - but then never hear anything further, even after expressing their willingness to accept a lower salary.

I'm proud of the law firm that I work for, which values its older staffers, and has hired older workers to fill positions. But when I hear my older readers' tales of continuous rejection, I do wonder if age discrimination is a growing problem.

What has been your experience? Is age discrimination a disturbing fact - or are other factors keeping older workers from getting new jobs?

Source: The Washington Independent

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on June 17, 2010 (boomark / email).