The ADA and the Aging Workforce

By Gary Anderberg, PhD

SVP Claim Analytics
Gallagher Bassett

Our physical and mental abilities and requirements change as we age even in the absence of injuries or illness. When does “aging in place” to maintain employee productivity trigger a need for reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) interactive process?

And how old is “old” or, worse, too old? Some folks are surprised to learn that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to persons who are 40 or older. In 1999, a Fortune article “Finished at 40,” turned the spotlight on Silicon Valley. “For a host of reasons, in the new economy experience and the skills that come with age now count for less and less. Companies are hiring and promoting more managers who are under 40, and older workers are being let go.”¹

A company in The Netherlands called simply The 50 Company helps people over 50 find work. Even in an unusually egalitarian culture and economy with a 3.5% official unemployment rate, landing a desirable job for a person over 50 requires a number of what their CEO Anne-Marije Buckens calls “life hacks.”

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