The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, revealed the following:

August 2014 Unemployment Statistics

16 to 17 years, men 25.5%
16 to 17 years, women 22%
45 to 54 years, men 4.3%
45 to 54 years, women 4.4%

The national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent for the month of August.

While America’s youth unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, many believe that it is the older job seekers who are facing a more perilous future of what to do in the last decade or two before retirement age. Some older job seekers not only face persistent age-based discrimination, they often face a second bias against the unemployed – periods of lengthy unemployment.

Are the low percentages above for these individuals a true reflection of the status quo? Are these numbers reflective of those who have simply given up looking? The answers remain debatable.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits employment discrimination against persons 40 years of age or older. In simple terms, it is illegal to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s age. If you are ever the victim of age discrimination, it is recommended that you contact The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 

Are Employers Ever Allowed to Consider Age?

Although employers generally cannot make any employment decisions based on age, there are limited exceptions in situations when there is a legitimate need for someone who is under a certain age. For example, a movie that needs a child actor would be permitted to hire one.

Age alone is rarely considered a reason for denying a job though. Even when applying to be a security guard or a lift operator or for other physically demanding jobs, it is usually your ability to do the work that should be a deciding factor rather than simply your advanced age.

However, let’s be real here! We all know there’s discrimination in hiring and because of it, older employees often craft their résumé to mask details about their age. Many remove the dates that they acquired degrees, truncate their work history to remove earlier work experience, and remove the start and end months from each period of past employment, in order to reduce noticeable gaps between jobs. I know this to be fact because as a Human Resources executive who has counseled job seekers and aided them in resume writing, I have made similar suggestions. I don’t feel good about it, however knowing what the realities may be in this competitive market, I’d be remiss in not making these suggestions.

As part of my research for this post, I reached out to the partners in the New Jersey-based law firm Lenzo & Reis, LLC and was not surprised by what either had to share:

“Anecdotally, the single largest component of my current caseload consists of age discrimination cases. I have seen a decided uptick in those claims in the last year. Unfortunately, age discrimination remains particularly socially acceptable, and is driven by employers’ desire to cut compensation (which usually correlates with age) and the stereotypes that older employees are not as driven and are unwilling to make the same sacrifices as younger employees,” said Christopher P. Lenzo.

His partner, Claudia Reis, went on to add the following statement, “While more older workers have voluntarily decided to prolong retirement to continue working, many have been forced to do so after seeing their retirement savings dwindle (or disappear) during the 2008 economic downfall and lengthy recession. As a result, there are greater numbers of older workers in the workforce who often find themselves participating in termination meetings where they are being told that they are not productive, fast, aggressive, assertive, accurate, energetic or hip enough. While all of those words are commonly used “code” for discrimination, companies have also become more surreptitious about their discriminatory practices even going so far as to systematically issue older workers unjustified lower performance ratings over a lengthy period of time to either defend their inclusion in a reduction-in-force or rationalize an otherwise unwarranted termination. All of these practices have resulted in a significant uptick in the number of age discrimination claimants calling our office and, unfortunately, a number of productive older workers who find themselves unemployed (often for the first time) during an economic downturn and at an age when finding work is difficult (if not impossible).”

Some of the résumé-tweaking strategies employed by older job seekers are fine, says Robert Pagliarini, president of Pacifica Wealth Advisors, Inc., who recently penned a tongue-in-cheek column in The Chicago Tribune about lying on résumés.

Maybe it is fine. However, it’s sad and quite unfortunate that millions feel compelled to do so.

Do you believe that you have experienced age discrimination in your job search? Share your experience here. It’s quite possible that the “shares” will help someone else avoid it.