Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has shed 6.9 million jobs. Downsizing decisions are often made by a single manager. Prejudices will undoubtedly reveal themselves.

The most recent discrimination data from the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shows that new claims instituted by employees against employers have escalated by some 15 percent in the last year alone.  Age discrimination charges have seen the largest increase with workers filing thirty percent more discrimination charges against employers than the prior year. 

The  U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission has issued a warning that the American workforce faces an age discrimination " ...equal opportunity plague."

The present economic climate is pressuring   more and more managers to adopt a " do more with less" philosophy to increase the likelihood that the business will survive and thrive during this recessionary period.

Unfortunately, some overly zealous managers are unfairly hurting
senior employees and subjecting the employer to large damage
awards (as you can see in this month's highlighted cases) when cost
cutting includes terminating older employees ( regardless of the
pretextual reason given for the firing) because they are viewed by
a manager as being "to costly to maintain."

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