If they are like my employer they have a bank of lawyers who are trained to fight you. If you win your lawyer wins if you lose you lose.

I have been a victim to age discrimination in the past. It sucks getting old. It's been a year now, and no job.

I had put it down because it pertained to the job I was applying for .

I fricking hate HR people ....hate them

Not a big deal. If you are what the are looking for, you could be 90 and get the job.

Scroll down to paragraph 4. https://www.experience.com/alumnus/article?channel_id=Interviews&source_page=additional_articles&article_id=article_1150295002556

Many questions put companies in a bad position and at risk for a discrimination lawsuit, however.

I ask because, until the last year or so, I never thought I looked my age, and most people consistently underestimated it by 10 or 15 years. But when I turned 58/59, I began to look older. Maybe the loss of some of my hair, or the perpetually haggard look on my face, but I both look and feel my age these days. If true for you, as well, do you think the interviewer would reject you for your age because you look it, and not because you divulged a corroborating date?

I suspect, because the interviewer shared a granfalloon with you, a common geographic background, he may have been fishing for nothing more than feeling of connectedness, shared experiences that may or may not indicate a commonality. I hope this proves the case and he decides to hire you.

That said, I don't know if it's legal to ask such questions or not. Makes me happy I took as long to graduate as I did, and have a degree from college awarded more than a decade after I graduated high school.

Good luck with your search, Smitty. What kind of work are you looking for?

he might not have known the exact age but most likely that didn't really matter if the employer was of a mind to discriminate on the basis of age. roughly knowing this was clearly someone well north or 40 would probably be all they cared about.

the fact that the interviewer asked the question given that the age was probably apparent does hint that the question was not actually intended to fish for an age and perhaps nothing will come of it. hopefully.

That interviewer really should know better. He's put his company in a bad position.

On DU as well as other internet forums, when it comes to legal questions, you will get a host of answers, most of them wrong. Do a google search in your area for discrimination lawyers. If you can't find someone check with your state Bar Association for referrals. You should be able to talk to someone in an initial conversation for free. My guess is no one will take the case but it does not hurt to ask.

whether this was fishing for age or just a poorly-trained interviewer, the question is illegal.

now, if you don't get the gig, can you win a lawsuit?

the first and most obvious problem with such cases is that the employer might very well simply deny that he asked the question. without that, or, unlikely, a recording, you have no solid evidence to support your claim that age was brought up. that doesn't mean you can't win a case, it just means it's harder. now you have to show convince a judge or jury that you really were a 95% match and that the only plausible explanation for them not hiring you was age.

if your employer is really smart (and evil), they'll recognize they screwed up the interview and eliminate the position entirely rather than hire a younger person to the same position they rejected you for. then they can create a "different" role, change the job requirements just enough, and hire the younger person to that job instead.

in short, winning a lawsuit is hard, and if you think of it as a job, it's a really sucky job. it doesn't build your resume and the pay usually sucks even if you win when you consider the effective hourly wage from working on the lawsuit, keeping a diary to document the damage done, etc.

having said that, a settlement might work for both parties, and at least you get something. generally speaking, you have to get a lawyer and actually file a lawsuit before they'll give you a meaningful settlement, which means some lawyer's gonna get a big cut.


fwiw, i'm not a lawyer but my mother is a labor lawyer (on the side of employees and labor unions, not businesses).

Just let it go. It is extremely difficult to go forward in these cases.

I had an excellent case (IMO) and the potential employer lied. It is your word against his.

The fact that the question was asked may give you some leverage if you file with the EEOC

I mean, I've always listed my education and work experience on resumés and/or applications. If you put down your degree and the year you got it, they can pretty much determine your general age within a few years (unless you went to college when you were 48).

Perhaps the interviewer was trying to see how honest you are. It's always better not to lie.

grades.

Do I look 59? Most people say no (50-55). I am balding and cut all my hair off years ago, to stay looking younger. I cut it to a number 1, weekly. I have no wrinkles, or other age related issues. I've been on many interviews over the past year, but this question was never brought up. I was kind of taken by surprise. Perhaps it was the inexperience by the interviewer. Regarding my eduction on my resume, I never put dates. I have yet to fill out an application, which again is surprising. If I'm not hired, I don't see it going further than this. It's probably not worth my time. I was just curious and wanted some input from others.