Law And More

Age Discrimination in Employment Act - Does It Cover Hiring Process?

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit … is weighing the scope of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act … Common employment practices such as campus recruiting and experience caps would be exposed to extensive litigation if job applicants are allowed to hold employers liable for age discrimination, a management-side lawyer argued." Erin Mulvaney, National Law Journal, September 6, 2018. Here is the article.

Traditionally, the legal mindset about ageism in the workplace has been focused on all the versions of termination.

A recent interesting lawsuit has been "Mullaugh v. JPMorgan." The estate of broker Michael A. Lorig contends forced retirement caused him to commit suicide. JPMorgan is accused of wrongful death.  Here is Bloomberg's coverage.

Now, the shift is to alleged discrimination in recruitment.

The legal spotlight has been cast on the issue by the litigation filed by Dale Kleber. Represented by AARP Foundation lawyer Dara Smith, Kleber contends he was denied an in-house lawyer position at CareFusion, at age 58, because of an experience cap.

That was seven years. Kleber has more than that. 

It is important to note that the plaintiff Kleber seems to be attempting to keep this review by the Seventh Circuit limited. Another issue has been campus recruiting, as presented in a class action lawsuit against PwC . Here Bloomberg covers "Rabin v. PwC." The defendant got the class action status shot down but that lawsuit isn't dead yet. Likely, more will sprout up.

Kleber's attorney Smith noted that campus recruiting would not be outlawed. In the PwC lawsuit, the plaintiff class claimed that the large accounting firm primarily recruited through interviewing on college campuses. That tended to prevent those over-40 from entering the formal recruitment process. 

However, the experience cap is, in itself, a major issue. In fact, I perceive it as bigger than campus recruiting.

In my coaching those over-50, most of those "between jobs" already understand that they have to downsize their experience.

Lots of experience can not only make them come across in the resume as "old."

It can render them unmarketable. For any number of reasons myriad employers back away from applicants with more than several years experience. Those reasons range from assuming the compensation will have to be high to fear they will bolt when more suitable work becomes available. Also, let's face it, America is tilted toward youth-everything. 

That downsizing can be done in a number of legal and ethical ways.

For example, the resume can be restricted to full-time employment, gig contracting, and self-employment in the last seven years.

Also, the nature of the experience can be reconfigured. What had been known as "ghostwriting" can now be identified as "social media content-provider." The applicant had only been focused on the latter for three years. 

Here is my new book, free to download, on how to land, hold, and move on to better work, despite aging  Download Outwitting ageism. The legal system moves slowly. Meanwhile, seasoned professionals have to pay their bills through working. 

Complimentary initial consultation for coaching. After that, sliding scale fees. Please set up an appointment through janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Older Lawyers in Limbo - No, You Are Not "a type"

There is that old saying in dating: When you become involved with someone that includes all their previous relationships, way way back to mom and dad. 

The same applies to the careers of seasoned professionals.

When they hit a wall and come to me for coaching each one presents the unique situation.

They represent an integration of all their professional (and personal) experiences.

Those reach back to delivering newspapers and being a pest as a telemarketer. The bundling also contains the emotional highlights of their lives, so far. 

That's why coaching begins only after the facts and feelings are out there.

No, there is no one "type" of older professional who becomes derailed. Instead there are many individuals who find they are shocked to wind up in a great deal of pain.  

The challenge is to establish enough trust for that professional to share with another human being those facts and feelings. Usually only he or she has access to that entire story.

The next step also is a trust one - in themselves. Those coached have to believe that the answers are within themselves. They are the ones who know best what to do. The coach helps them position and package them into a plan or plans. 

An example had been the 54-year-old former in-house lawyer. Both of us believed he lost his job because of his high compensation. He could be and was replaced with a lawyer in her mid 30s, at half the compensation. 

His facts and feelings were balled up in early losses. Members of his family died unusually young. He wasn't admitted to the law school he had his heart on. He hadn't made partner at a law firm. The light went out on his marriage.

The answers inside him included that he clung to what he perceived as security even it wasn't and even if he hadn't been a good fit with what was. 

Freed from that what was and with severance and then unemployment he yearned to take a risk. As a coach I warned him that all transitions are really experiments. They might not pan out. He had to take on the mindset of a scientist who was trying out a hypothesis.

After a few tries, the former in-house lawyer found that what did pan out was as a full-time litigation consultant within a Washington D.C. public affairs agency. Like most lawyers he was verbal so he was a natural in producing the communications associated with the lawsuits. In addition, he joined the agency's team in developing new business for that unit. 

Currently he wonders: Should he set up his own public affairs agency specializing in the litigation niche. That's why he had returned to coaching. As before, we are returning to the facts and the feelings.

Complimentary introductory session. After that, sliding scale fees. Please set up an appointment at janegenova374@gmail.com.

Meanwhile here are free books to click open and read:

“Over-50: Outsmarting Your Comfort Zone” http://over-50.typepad.com/over-50/2018/05/outsmarting-your-comfort-zone-free-book.html

 “Over-50: The Four Monsters in the Mind” http://over-50.typepad.com/over-50/2018/04/ageism-bites-.html

 

Even Tiger Moms Are Mortal

Not everything of note is happening inside the beltway.

In New Haven, Connecticut, reports Kathryn Rubino at Abovethelaw.com, Tiger Mom has been hospitalized. As the world knows, Tiger Mom is Yale Law School professor Amy Chua.

Chua became famous through her unique child-rearing practices. Those she published in the brisk-selling book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom." 

No details about Chua's illness have been disclosed. However, it's shocking that this creature is not immune to any and all human illnesses.

Her contracts course at Yale has been taken over by another professor. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

Right Up There with Bill W./Dr. Bob - Chris Lawford Had Touched Lives of So Many in Recovery

He shared the good looks and acting talent of his father Peter Lawford. And the addiction curse on his mother's side of the family. That side also saddled him with the burden of carrying on the Kennedy legacy.

He was Chris Lawford. His uncle had been John F. Kennedy. 

Somehow he found his way through so many blessings and obstacles. When he wasn't doing what he had to do to earn a living, Lawford was educating addicts on how they could find how to manage to live substance free. One of his seminal books has been "Voices From the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery." 

Of course, Lawford also had been through the wringer on all that. He was candid about his own struggles with compulsion. In itself, that reduced some of the stigma.

Today he left us at the young age 0f 63. The cause of death seems to have been a heart attack. Here are more details. 

Unfortunately, with the opioid epidemic, Lawford was never more needed. Weekly, at the meetings of recovery groups there are the announcements of those who fatally overdosed since the group got together the week before.

Full Disclosure: I entered recovery for alcohol abuse in August 1981. At the time, I was inspired by the stories of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, co-founders of the 12-step programs.

Those entering recovery later would hear the saga of how Lawford overcame his own demons. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

Closely Watched Portfolios - Not Necessary for Those Who Are Never Retiring

The new game among media outlets, financial planners, and those real estate developers who put up retirement complexes is this: Scare the dickens out of those who assume they have to retire.

The latest move in that game is to discuss the possibility of the ending of the bull market. Here is the article in MarketWatch.

Well, no one rejoices at the possibility of a plunge in the value of assets in a portfolio. But that doesn't constitute a financial catastrophe for those of us who got it that we don't have to retire. Not now. Not when we hit 65. Not ever.

As we pile on the years, usually we look forward to downshifting. That is, we transition to jobs and operating businesses which don't demand such grueling hours and which don't impose such emotional pressures. 

One Manhattan vice president I had coached navigated a shift to relocating to Idaho. There he learned dog grooming. For about seven months he worked as an employee in someone else's grooming salon. Then, he invested in a mobile unit to bring grooming to customers' homes. The weekly hours he puts in have downsized from 90 to 50. In addition, no longer are chief executive officers screaming at him.

Part of the fun of downshifting is that aging professionals can try out many different kinds of work as well as their own business startups. Here, free to click on and read, is my book on that  Download Outwitting ageism. And, that old saying is on the money: A job gets you a job - usually a much better one.

Takeaway: Don't let anyone frighten you about running out of money. Working prevents that. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

Aaron Hernandez - Could Lawyer Jose Baez Have Gotten Him Acquitted of Odin Lloyd Murder?

It was offbeat lawyer Jose Baez who got Casey Anthony acquitted of the murder of her daughter.

Later, Baez also won over a jury to acquit New England Patriots' star Aaron Hernandez of two murders.

Had Hernandez not committed suicide in prison, Baez also might have gotten him acquitted of the murder of Odin Lloyd.

For that killing, Hernandez had been serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The conviction was up for appeal. At the first trial he had been represented by lawyers from Ropes & Gray.

Could Baez have made Hernandez a free man, again?

Those are the kinds of questions which James Patterson raises in his true-crime 2018 book "All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez." Here the book can be ordered from Amazon.

Other questions Patterson presents to readers include what turned an extremely gifted athlete into a murderer.

Of course, the beating the brains of football players receive is brought out. After his death, there was an examination of Hernandez's. It showed evidence of Stage III CTE which was, at that time, the worst case in existence for a man as young as he had been. However, as Patterson brings out, although many football players suffer from CTE, not many of them become killers. 

Patterson also provides Hernandez's early traumas, ranging from the unexpected death of his father when he was a boy to his mother's infidelity. 

In addition, fame came so fast that Hernandez did not have the opportunity to emotionally mature. He seemed clueless about how to process anger, disappointment, and self-blame. 

Patterson's book is must reading, obviously, for criminal lawyers.

But it could also help athletic coaches guide their stars away from self-destruction. We all know sports, even at the college level, is big business. Too often, those in the loop cut too much slack for athletes without the miscreants being able to learn from their mistakes. 

This blog hopes that Hernandez found the peace in death that he couldn't hold onto in his short life.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

Relocation Propaganda - What Lawyers Considering Retiring Shouldn't Buy Into

"The monthly cost of buying a home - which includes mortgage payments, taxes, and insurance - jumped 14% between July 2017 and July 2018 … Comparatively, it only became 4% more expensive to rent a home over the same period." - Jacob Passy, MarketWatch, September 2, 2018. Here is the article. 

It's almost a given: Retirees and those semi-retiring can't afford to remain where they built their careers. They have to relocate. Once that decision is made (and it's usually a soul-wrenching one) then comes the other key one. And that's whether to buy or rent in the new area.

The recent report from Realtor.com indicates that in two-thirds the counties in the U.S. it's more affordable to rent versus buying. 

But that's only part of the story. Relocation doesn't always go well. The geographical area chosen might not be a fit. The classic example is southwestern Arizona. Lots of those from the Northeast Corridor and California pile in. Then they discover the unique AZ ethos isn't for them.

If they have purchased a house or a condo, then they might feel they are "stuck." If they hadn't then they can consider other options. 

Another reason the relocation might not pan out is that the growing popularity of the area boosts the cost of living there. Again, an example if AZ. The myth is that it's financially ideal for retirees and those who downshift to semi-retirement. The reality is that other locations, such as Eastern Ohio or parts of Idaho, may be less expensive.

Renting a studio apartment in Vista Montana in Tucson, AZ was at $400 in April 2014. Now it ranges (and the price keeps fluctuating) from $520 to $545 a month. Utilities are not included. Electricity for air-conditioning in the 122-degree heat can be pricey. In addition, when the lease is renewed, the increase could up to $50 per month.

In contrast, renting a large one-bedroom 600-square foot apartment, utilities included, in Hillbrook, Austintown, Ohio, costs $569. With the senior discount of $25 a month, that downsizes to $544. For one resident, lease renewal only entailed a one-dollar increase one year. The next year the increase was $10. 

A third reason to rent, not buy, is that, even though folks are aging, they are still changing. Or their circumstances are changing. What suited them at age 67 may be a mismatch at age 73. Their daughter becomes disabled and they want to pitch in and help. That means relocating again.

Home ownership makes good sense when rearing a family. The kids have a yard. Equity could build.

Here, free to download and read, is my book on how the aging can prevent getting stuck in a comfort zone.  

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

When It's Not Wise to Think/Act Like a Lawyer

Is the economic boom only for youth to share in?

Could be.

Despite the great job creation statistics and the record low unemployment rate, the LA Times tells the tale of what is happening to workers who simply get older.

Essentially it's a story of downward mobility in the type of work available to them and the compensation.

Those such as Tom Middleton bump into the realities that it takes them longer than younger workers to land work - 37 weeks versus 25.

And after age 60, despite education (he has a master's degree), earnings go down for those who are employed full time (Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta).

Until he was in his late 50s, Middleton was a software engineer. Now, 66, he drives a bus for about half what he used to earn. 

Of course, as lawyers worth their salt will tell the older workers, ageism may be part of this but is difficult to prove. So, for those aging professionals who are determined to continue earning income, it's wise to just shake off the bias experience and keep hunting for employment.  

One bright spot is that there may be less discrimination or none at all for gig assignments and for many telecommunications ones. Here is my new book, free to click on and read, on that  Download Outwitting ageism.

Examples include the temporary agency which hires investment communications experts at the market rate in an age-neutral way. 

In addition, given digital everything, more employers are conducting interviews for telecommuting jobs entirely online, with the actual interview thrown in. There is no in-person screening or SKYPE video interview. Of course, the applicant has to sense what answers the employers want in their interviews. Usually the right answer represents a combination of honoring company policy and struggling to excel in customer services. 

In general, what older workers have to have as a mantra is the Winston Churchill ethos: Never give up. Also, although academic degrees might not get them anywhere in full-time employment, career-oriented certifications can.

One 58-year-old man I coached bounced around after being laid off from middle management.

Finally, he decided to become licensed and certified in long distance driving. The training lasted about two months. He took out a $7,000 loan to finance it. Free tuition training was available if he had been willing to agree to work for two years for a certain company. 

Before he had completed training, he had several interviews - and offers. His age was irrelevant. The demand for manpower is high in the field. During the first year out there on the road drivers earn about $27 an hour. 

Another man I coached trained to become certified in tax preparation. He leveraged that credential into doing marketing communications on a contract basis for corporations in that niche.

Free initial consultation for those over-50 who are having difficulty with their careers. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Takeaway: Shake off preoccupation with ageism. Instead figure out where the work is. The old adage is on the money: A job leads to a better job. Not working means continuing to not work. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

1 Wedding (at least) Needed After 2 Funerals

2 funerals were positioned and packaged to open our hearts in these dark times to the light. The heroism of John McCain and the talent of Aretha Franklin lifted us out of preoccupation with politics and an economy which seems too good to be sustained.

To keep us moving toward hope we need 1 wedding. But who measures up to be able to provide the needed traction by joining together, legally, with another human being?

Fortunately, there are a number of candidates.

One is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It's been 8 years since her husband Martin passed on. Currently, she is America's sweetheart, poaching that honor from the late Mary Tyler Moore.

Another is the fictional Spencer Reid from "Criminal Minds." His soulmate had been offed by a deranged jealous woman. If he finds another and marries the ratings for a series long in the tooth could be boosted. 

Then there is Oprah Winfrey. Now, that's American royalty. She could opt to tie the knot with her long-time gentleman caller or bump into someone who sweeps her out of her single comfort zone. (Here is my free book on finding the exit ramp out of what's way too comfortable.)

Weddings are a setting for optimism about the future, despite what we know about human nature and when life intrudes. A wedding before the presidential campaign of 2020 could put us in the right mood to make an objective choice. The high angst will be neutralized.

Communications Strategy/Services and Career Coaching. Special areas of expertise include professionals over-50 and students applying to degree programs in higher education.

 

Complimentary initial consultation. Sliding scale fees. Contact Jane Genova for an appointment janegenova374@gmail.com.

Reverse-Aging Process (NAD) Could Bring Windfall to Divorce Lawyers, Provide Unhappy Lawyers with Shot at Second Career

Essentially this anti-aging process involves reprogramming cells. The cost could be peanuts. 

Then, poof.

Big chunks of aging disappear. Biological age could be rolled back almost a quarter of a century. 

Harvard professor David Sinclair, along with University of New South Wales researchers, discovered the approach. The projection is that it could be available by 2020. That can extend the human life span to 150. And most of that we can use to earn income. Goodbye worrying about saving for "retirement." Maybe that whole concept will go the way of the Selectric typewriter. 

Charlie Coe in the Daily Mail reports:

"The science behind the new technique involves the molecule nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which plays a role in generating energy in the human body. The chemical is already used as a supplement for treating Parkinson's disease and fighting jet lag." 

The implications are huge.

Financial planners will have to throw away the standard sales pitch about the urgent need to start saving for retirement in high school. 

Career training schools, ranging from certifying long distance truck driving to coding, will be a high growth industry.

At age 65, which will be the new 40, lawyers weary of knocking heads with other lawyers, can retrain for a whole fresh career such as a software engineer. No longer would they publish a chronicle of their discontent on Abovethelaw.com. 

Empty nest housewives can start their first career. 

Journalists laid off when The Village Voice recently shut down can live their blue-collar fantasy of becoming plumbers. 

Rare will be the marriage which can endure over a 100 years. So, the divorce rate could reach 100%. Any which had survived 100 years will probably be saluted by Al Roker on the "Today" show. Along the way, STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) will become a global health epidemic. 

A new kind of therapy will have to emerge to end festering feuds.

Just as William Shakespeare portrayed, the human heart is capable of embedding hate and locking it in. And, all the while, we perceive ourselves, just like King Lear on the heath, as more sinned against than sinning. 

But, come on, a century+ is too long to nurture a grudge. I will have to sign up for that conflict-resolution to lift from my heart the extreme antipathy against former college classmate Kathleen Huebner.

Meanwhile, the rage, yes, is Shakespearean.  

Money?

Back in our youth, our mascot from Mad Magazine Alfred E. Neuman used to observe life and shrug: What, Me Worry. That will also become our signature phrase about money.

Lose everything? We have decades to earn it back. 

Not earn as much as we have come to believe we are capable of? At what is now age 70 we can get serious about building wealth. 

And, the odds are great that many of us will use those long years to push the envelope and wind up in prison. That could become as common a rite of passage as getting our first dog has been. On whatever social media is the platform post-2020, we proudly will post photos of ourselves in our orange jump suit. Naughty Us.

Most importantly, added years and renewed energy provide the opportunity to forgive ourselves for our mistakes. In my career coaching of those over-50, frequently what's keeping them stuck in the past is regret. Here is my recent book on moving beyond that, free to download.

Communications Strategy/Services and Career Coaching. Special areas of expertise include professionals over-50 and students applying to degree programs in higher education.

 

Complimentary initial consultation. Sliding scale fees. Contact Jane Genova for an appointment janegenova374@gmail.com.