What’s the big employment lawsuit for the first half of the 21st century? I can’t be sure, but I think a safe guess is age discrimination.
You’re saying, “Oh, you’re one of those baby boomers, and you’re just chapped because you’re getting old.” Well, I am a boomer–an early one, as a matter of fact. But I’m proud to be a boomer. And what’s more, I feel like I’m 25. (I wish.)
I said in my first post that I had chosen to be on the employer’s side in the labor and employment area of the law, but I’ll confess that I’ve recently thought about changing sides because of what I think is the coming wave of age discrimination lawsuits. I won’t do that, of course, but age cases are usually the best discrimination cases there are from an employee’s standpoint and from the standpoint of the lawyer who represents the old timer. Why?
Well, for lack of a better word–sympathy. Take a 60-65 year old with 20, 25, 30 years of service who just got canned. Put him or her in front of a jury with a big company on the other side of the courtroom. Show me the money!
Age (40 years old and above) is different from the other protected classes. In all honesty, I don’t think most caucasians can relate well to a race or national origin discrimination lawsuit. I don’t think most men can relate well to a sex or gender discrimination lawsuit. With the demographics changing as quickly as they are in the U.S., that may change before too long, but I think it’s still true today.
Age is different. Everyone will make his or her way into that protected category. Everyone has a mother or father who’s in the protected age group–or a grandmother or grandfather who’s in the protected age group. Every juror can see himself or herself possibly sitting there alone in the courtroom one of these days, or can see his parent or grandparent sitting there right now. Show me the money!
And you want to talk about changing demographics: caucasians losing their majority status in a more diverse population; the rapidly growing Hispanic population; more women than men being in the workplace. These changes are significant, but they’re nothing compared to the change being driven by the aging of the workforce. Thousands of employees are turning 60 every day now.
Unlike previous generations, a lot of us boomers don’t want to retire. We like to work–or we like to say we do. We may have to. That retirement nest egg isn’t as big as we thought it would be. We’ve become accustomed to a way of life that retirement won’t support. We’ve got volumes of good performance reviews, whether we deserved them or not. And you want to replace me now with someone younger? Show me the money!
One of your big jobs is spotting red flags for your employer. I’m giving you notice of a big red flag that’s waving before your very eyes. “Danger, Will Robinson.” And if that line doesn’t mean anything to you, you’re not a boomer.
Stay tuned for more on this growing danger zone.
