Does this job description confirm age discrimination?

[LeeH]

Listed in a job description...

"Education Level: High School Diploma/GED (±11 years)"

Are they saying they only want people who are no more than 11 years out of high school?

[dobryan]

I read that as 11+/- years of education.

[legion]

Or 11 years from graduating high school.

Either way, it's probably a red flag that something isn't quite right.

[MRM]

There is a serious debate in legal circles whether job ads looking for someone with no more than a specific number of years' experience constitutes age discrimination. Is an ad for candidates who have "a four year degree and 2-4 years' of sales management experience" really asking for applicants who are in the 24-26 age range? Or is there a reason someone with 10 or 20 years experience who was 35 to 45 years old wouldn't fit in the job? Even more to the point, should a 50 year old with years' of experience who got RiFd be disqualified from entry level positions when he needed a job, any job, and was willing to start at the bottom with a new employer and work his way back up?

I can see how an employer might think that a candidate might not work well under a boss who is younger and less experienced, but I think that happens naturally in companies all the time. I think employers should advertise for "at least ____ years' of experience" with no cap, and be open to applicants of any age who have more than the minimum.

[Craig T]

It's in reference to the GED. It's saying that a GED or high school equivalency is OK, providing the applicant got through a minimum of 11th grade.

The US armed forces has a similar requirement. They don't want some schmuck who dropped out of high school in 10th grade and came back a few years later and passed a GED after taking a weekend test prep course.

[berettafan]

if you can't discriminate against who you hire what in the **** is the point of an interview?

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by berettafan

if you can't discriminate against who you hire what in the **** is the point of an interview?

You can discriminate among potential hires, just not on the basis of age, sex, race, religion.

[berettafan]

well i guess if we've got to pretend that we really are considering hiring that 90 year old transvestite wikken then that's what we'll do. just seems like it'd be a lot easier if we could just hire whoever the heck we wanted.

[scottmandue]

This is big concern to me.... I retire in May and want to find a job to keep busy/from going crazy but I will be 62. I guess it is a matter of finding a company that values experience.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by dobryan

I read that as 11+/- years of education.

I think you're right. I searched on the exact term I posted and see it in a lot of ads, but without the +/-. Most just say "GED (11 years)."

[berettafan]

i hired a retired woman a couple years ago. perfect situation as she didn't want to work too much, already had health insurance and was overqualified for the job. she was an assistant for high up execs in the aerospace industry. probably earned more than i do during her working years.

there is great value in any employee that has experience and doesn't need insurance. tangible monetary value. you may not be able to have that conversation in the open but i promise you for any smaller business it's a real positive.

[atcjorg]

Originally Posted by ossiblue

You can discriminate among potential hires, just not on the basis of age, sex, race, religion.

Actually the government does it all the time. To be hired by the FAA as an air traffic controller you can not have had your 31st birthday additionally if you remain as an active air traffic controller you MUST retire the last day of the month that you turn 56.
Under Public Law 92-297, air traffic control specialists (ATCS or controller) are required to retire at age 56.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by atcjorg

Actually the government does it all the time.

Not only that, the gov't. assists private industry in doing the same thing by having them all ask your gender, ethnicity, if you have a disability and if you're a veteran. Of course, it's illegal to discriminate on those criteria, but by making employers collect it from applicants, employers get all that info with legal cover from the feds, and they'd just about never be able to ask such things in a job interview or as part of their own job application.

And if you ever look at job ads from German companies, even in the US, they almost all list "m/w" in the headline, meaning it can be for a man or a woman, suggesting they can discriminate on that basis too.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by ossiblue

You can discriminate among potential hires, just not on the basis of age, sex, race, religion.

(tell that to the insurance company)

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by berettafan

.............just seems like it'd be a lot easier if we could just hire whoever the heck we wanted.

Ain't that a big +1.

Instead you have to mask your actions.