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Online Job Sites May Block Older Workers (cnbc.com)

Joe_Dragon quotes a report from CNBC: Older Americans struggling to overcome age discrimination while looking for work face a new enemy: their computers. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently opened a probe into allegations that ageism is built right into the online software tools that millions of Americans use to job hunt. Separate research published recently by the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank found that in a widespread test using fabricated resumes, fictional older workers were 30 percent less likely to be contacted after applying for jobs. Fictional older women had it even worse, being 47 percent less likely to get a "callback." Several forces are conspiring to ensure that many Americans have to work well past the traditional retirement age of 65. People are living longer, their retirement savings are inadequate, and Social Security reforms are almost certainly going to require it. The San Francisco Fed says that the share of the older-65 working population is projected to rise sharply -- from about 19 percent now to 29 percent in the year 2060. Online job-hunting tools should be making things easier for older employment seekers, and it can. Indeed.com, which claims to list 16 million jobs worldwide, currently lists 158,000 openings under its "Part Time Jobs, Senior Citizen Jobs" category. Monster.com, which claims 5 million listings, has a special home page for "Careers at 50+." In other ways, however, online job sites can cut older workers out. Age bias is built right into their software, according to Madigan. Job seekers who try to build a profile or resume can find that it's impossible to complete some forms because drop-down menus needed to complete tasks don't go back far enough to let older applicants fill them out. For example, one site's menu options for "years attended college" stops abruptly at 1956. That could prevent someone in their late 70s from filling out the form. Madigan's office said it found one example that only accommodated those who had attended school after 1980, "barring anyone who is older than 52." Other sites used dates ranging from 1950 to 1970 as cutoffs, her office said. The Illinois' Civil Rights Bureau has opened a probe into potential violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act and the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Madigan's office has sent inquiry letters to six top jobs sites: Beyond.com, CareerBuilder, Indeed Inc., Ladders Inc., Monster Worldwide Inc. and Vault.

7 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The Discrimination is about wages, not age by theora55 · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's blatantly discriminatory and bigoted. I'm an older worker, I stay late and have a flexible schedule. I'm tired of being denied job opportunities. I should be paid fairly, but I can't get access to jobs I can do really well.

    Please note: Age discrimiation in hiring is illegal.

  2. Re:Why isn't Social Security working? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In the 1930's, there was 19 workers for every retiree. In 2030, when most of the baby boomers are retired, there will be two workers for every retiree. This problem has been well known since the Reagan Administration, but politicians found it easy to kick the can down the road.

  3. Re:Maybe stop using dropdowns for numbers? by HornWumpus · · Score: 5, Funny

    If only there was some way to flexibly validate strings.

    We'll have to wait for millennials to reinvent something like regular expressions (and announce it's a breakthrough, never before considered technique).

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  4. Re:The Discrimination is about wages, not age by DRJlaw · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't need any government regulations backlash on my hands, so I try to ensure it just doesn't come to that. Hiring somebody older in the West means hiring somebody who is a more protected class (in terms of government laws) and it can be dangerous for me, as it can hurt me financially and this is where I draw the line.

    As if discrimination in hiring isn't subject to "government regulations backlash".

    I'm tempted to report you myself... it's not often that someone is stupid enough, even pseudononymously, to admit to a clear violation of the law in a manner that they cannot delete on a site that maintains logs...

  5. Wow, they break all the rules for resumes... by rickb928 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I haven't put dates to my educational history in 20-+ years. I haven't included employment history further than 7 years for at least that long.

    Since employers aren't really permitted to ask your age (AEDA), they shouldn't until it's time for as background check, and if they are big enough they should let HR/Personnel handle that information without revealing it to the hiring individual or team.

    Wow. This is an anti-discrimination class-action suit waiting for a sponsor. Forcing dates out of you is forced age disclosure, and illegal.

    Illegal. And it's not even new. Not surprising though.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  6. Re:The Discrimination is about wages, not age by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    So what parent actually means is that Roman Mironenko's businesses Titan Technologies and TrackEnsure (located in Ontario, CA) are, by his own admission, in violation of the section 5(1) of the Ontario Human Rights Code, which prohibits discrimination in employment.

    Any unsuccessful job applicant within the last year with Titan Technologies or TrackEnsure who believes they may have not gotten the job due to discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability is likely to win to damages and compensation.

    Any person alleging discrimination in Ontario can file an Application with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (“HRTO”). Applicants have one year from the date of the last discriminatory incident to submit an Application.

  7. Re:Why isn't Social Security working? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not coincidentally, during Reagan's first year in office, the IRS ruled that 401(k)s could be funded through payroll deductions. Also during his first term, the Tax Reform Act of 1984 ensured that if a company offered 401(k)s, they were available to all employees. Rather than "kicking it down the road," they created an incentive for people to take control of their destiny away from the government.

    Not so coincidentally, companies were no longer obligated to provide pensions and Wall Street collected billions in fees from people who had no interest in playing at the casino. Unlike boring old pensions, 401(k) accounts goes up and down with the market. If the value of your 401(k) plummets 50% as it did during the Great Recession and you have to make mandatory withdrawals, tough shit. You should have saved more.

    The real problem is not congress, but the common attitude of "I want it all, and I want it now" ingrained in our entitlement society, and the failure of individuals to save for the future.

    Let's blame individuals for not saving enough for retirement at the casino when pensions could have easily provided for their retirement needs.