Age Discrimination in the Tech Industry

A recent article at Fortune.com takes an interesting look at age discrimination in the technological sector. Silicon Valley is certainly one of those areas where youth is perceived as an advantage. One particular practice focused on in the article is the emphasis on hiring "new" college graduates, which can arguably be seen as a proxy for seeking younger workers. From the article:

"Apple..., Facebook, Yahoo, Dropbox, and video game maker Electronic Arts all recently listed openings with “new grad” in the title. Some companies say that recent college graduates will also be considered and then go on to specify which graduating classes—2011 or 2012, for instance—are acceptable. . . 'In our view, it’s illegal,' Raymond Peeler, senior attorney advisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws said about the use of “new grad” and “recent grad” in job notices. 'We think it deters older applicants from applying.'"

 It is interesting how different sectors of the economy have distinct cultures that can raise problems under federal law. This will be an interesting issue to follow …

-- Joe Seiner