September 7, 2016

Jim Hammerschmidt Provides Commentary in SHRM Article on Age Discrimination

• September 7, 2016
• Related Attorneys: James Hammerschmidt
• Related Practice Areas: Employment Law

Jim Hammerschmidt provides commentary in SHRM Online article, “HP Faces Age Claim over Demographics Discussions, RIFs” by Allen Smith (September 6, 2016). Discussing generational differences and actually documenting it within your company is a bad idea, as HP is learning from an August 18 complaint about an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) violation.

“It's ‘shocking’ if older workers were stereotyped as slow workers, Baby Boomers as ‘rule breakers’ and Millennials as, by contrast, ‘highly desirable,’ Jim Hammerschmidt, an attorney with Paley Rothman in Bethesda, Md., told SHRM Online.  The thrust of the generalizations was that older workers weren't up to speed anymore, he said, noting that HP allegedly discriminated against older workers in its reductions in force (RIFs).”
 
“Employers need to carefully vet RIFs and carefully select decisional units, Hammerschmidt said. And CEOs need to ‘watch what they tell analysts on the street,’ he added.”
 
Jim is Co-Chair of the firm’s Employment Law practice group and Co-President of the firm.
 
Full coverage of the article, “HP Faces Age Claim over Demographics Discussions, RIFs” can be found on SHRM Online.