age discrimination

[PayrollHRGuy]

That is strange that an application asks for DOB these days.

 

[CdwJava]

Different states have different laws and some may still permit a date of birth on an application. And, many employers may not have modified old applications to remove DOB from them in those states where a DOB is not permitted on an application.

 

[cbg]

The bottom line, however, is that the OP will need to show convincing proof (and at least initially the burden of proof is on him) that he is not being considered for these positions due to his age; that his qualifications are equal or better to those of the other applicants and when all other factors have been taken into consideration the only logical conclusion is that his age was the eliminating factor.

 

[Just Blue]

Responders should also keep in mind that this poster has a history on this board as something of a whiner. It's quite legal to discriminate against a 76 year old on the basis that you don't want to listen to him telling sad stories of how badly he's been mistreated all day.

Wow...You are right! Px Hx is a must read!

 

[snowman45106]

What sort of "dispatcher" job are you applying for?

There are a few exemptions from the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Some exemptions are for types of jobs.

Airlines hiring pilots can legally discriminate against older applicants, for example.

I was applying for a dispatcher job with the Oro Valley police and when I asked them what my score was they called me back later and told me that they only give out whether you pass of fail. No score is giver. On the scheet you mark your answers there is a place they ask you your age so maybe they did not consider me at all because of me putting down my age of 76. Also I believed i passed the passing score.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I was applying for a dispatcher job with the Oro Valley police and when I asked them what my score was they called me back later and told me that they only give out whether you pass of fail. No score is giver. On the scheet you mark your answers there is a place they ask you your age so maybe they did not consider me at all because of me putting down my age of 76. Also I believed i passed the passing score.

Just based on this post alone, with all its misspellings, etc., I suggest that you consider the possibility that you did not pass.

Accuracy in conveying information is necessary in a dispatcher, and it is not one of your skills.

 

[commentator]

I have many times seen job hunters set themselves on a particular job, either at a particular place or in a particular field, and even in these very much job hunters markets, that sometimes doesn't work out for them. There is no way you can definitively prove that the reason you did not get hired was because you were determined to be too old unless someone with hiring authority is dumb enough to tell you that. It doesn't happen often. They may have simply had more qualified candidates. These types of jobs often use testing and will not provide test results partially because they do not want to lock themselves into having to hire the person with the highest score. Even civil service tests allow for those who are "top three" or top five on testing, to give the hirers as much choice as possible. There are a lot of factors that go into hiring decisions, and being a dispatcher is a job they definitely want the person who they believe is best qualified in all ways. Some people your age would be very good at it, some not so much, and that's not really an age related issue.

 

[cbg]

You're going to need a great deal more than a "maybe they didn't consider me because of my age" to sustain any kind of legal action. Your belief that you passed in the face of their telling you that you didn't isn't sufficient.

 

[CdwJava]

I was applying for a dispatcher job with the Oro Valley police and when I asked them what my score was they called me back later and told me that they only give out whether you pass of fail. No score is giver. On the scheet you mark your answers there is a place they ask you your age so maybe they did not consider me at all because of me putting down my age of 76. Also I believed i passed the passing score.

So, did you ask whether you passed or failed? Your belief that you passed is not the same as actually having passed. Perhaps you can contact the city's Human Resources folks and ask them about the process.

Keep in mind that even if you passed the test, that is not a guarantee of employment or even an interview. There are a number of considerations for the position of a police dispatcher. Any idea on your typing speed and accuracy? Familiarity with computer systems and devices? Education level? Dispatching requires a great deal of multi-tasking that many people are simply not qualified for. It's a tough job that pays doo-doo. I know that I wouldn't want to do their job, and I sure as heck wouldn't do it for the rates they tend to receive. Where I have worked a Dispatcher who works crappy shifts and mandatory OT gets paid less than the M-F 9-5 records clerk in the next office. There's not much incentive to do the job. Point is that it is not an easy job and one needs to possess a variety of skills and traits - passing a test is only one part of the evaluation process, I imagine.

 

[HRZ]

Believing you had a passing score doesn't count ...and for that matter being among the top 3 or 5 passing scores, if true , doesn't prove age was an overt factor nor does it rule out that members of some other group got advanced places in line ....for example around me there are mandatory preferences for military veterans in some public sector jobs.......

 

[Taxing Matters]

Different states have different laws and some may still permit a date of birth on an application.

I know of no state that has a law that expressly permits a private employer to ask that that question. However, a lot of states do not have lawas that expressly prohibit it. No state requires a private employer to ask for a date of birth on the application, however. Given that the ADEA is federal law, states cannot enforce any of their laws that might conflict with the ADEA. What all this means is that employers who ask for age on initial applications risk violating federal law, just as they do when asking for sex, age, religion, etc. Employers may ask if the applicant is at least age 18 or 21, since that information is needed to qualify applicants for certain jobs given child work laws and laws regarding serving alcohol, etc. But asking for an actual birth date in most cases is asking for trouble.

You are mostly familiar with police applications, I suspect, and law enforcement is a huge exception here because the ADEA carves out an exception for law enforcement officers and firefighters.

And, many employers may not have modified old applications to remove DOB from them in those states where a DOB is not permitted on an application.

Again, just because a state might have a law that permits a DOB on an application (though I am not aware of any with a law that specifically says that) that law would not provide cover for violating the ADEA, which is federal law. Moreover, a law that would permit an employer to ask for a DOB is not a law that requires an employer to do that, and no state requires any private employer to do that. Thus, an employer would not violate that state law by not asking for a DOB and the employer would be on far safer ground under the ADEA by not asking for the DOB. The ADEA is not a new law; it was enacted 51 years ago. Any employers large enough to be subject to the ADEA (those with 20+ employees) who haven not yet caught up to the compliance with the ADEA are simply clueless and unfortunately have never consulted an employment law attorney or knowledgeable HR professional about this as they should. If you are large enough to have 20+ people working for you then you need to be consulting lawyers and other professionals to ensure you are following all the laws that apply to your business. Most larger businessses that I have represented are at least well enough informed not to ask this sort of question in the initial application.

A small business (under 20 employees) may discriminate on age and not violate the ADA. So you may indeed see age questions on applications for very small employers, at least in states that do not have their own version of the ADEA.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I was applying for a dispatcher job with the Oro Valley police

Note that if a police dispatcher is considered a law enforcement position (which is something I don't know and might vary from one department to another based on the duties assigned to dispatchers) then the department might be able to legally refuse to hire you because of your age. The ADEA provides an exception for law enforcement personnel.

 

[quincy]

Note that if a police dispatcher is considered a law enforcement position (which is something I don't know and might vary from one department to another based on the duties assigned to dispatchers) then the department might be able to legally refuse to hire you because of your age. The ADEA provides an exception for law enforcement personnel.

There is an ADEA exemption for public safety workers and I would think a police dispatcher falls into the public safety category,

 

[HRZ]

I thought the ADEA exception was for law enforcement officers ...and that term is defined in the Federal Code......I doubt that most dispatchers are LEOs ...

 

[quincy]

I thought the ADEA exception was for law enforcement officers ...and that term is defined in the Federal Code......I doubt that most dispatchers are LEOs ...

Here is a link to the job snowman applied for and its qualifications:
https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/orovalley/jobs/1789228/police-dispatcher-lateral?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

I would say that it is lack of necessary qualifications rather than age that is the problem.