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New hire protected by age bias rules

Q. I went for an interview and fared so well that I expect the company to hire me. I don’t know how the interviewer will react once he finds out I’m 66 years old. I am worried about what happens if I get the job. Can the corporation force me to retire a few years from now? Also, I’m on Medicare; so how would the company handle my health benefits?

A. The news is good. And it will help you train your focus where it really belongs right now: on getting hired.

You couldn’t be forced to retire because the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act makes mandatory retirement illegal for all but a handful of top executives, said Robert H. Brown, an employment attorney and a partner at the Chicago law firm of Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg.

That law covers companies with at least 20 employees, but most states have similar laws that apply to smaller enterprises.

Brown also says companies generally don’t hire older workers only to hold their age against them later. In fact, he said, “many federal judges have issued opinions in age discrimination lawsuits recognizing that if a manager hires someone who is older, it is unlikely that the same manager would later discriminate against that person because of his or her age.”

You needn’t worry about benefits either. “Access to fringe benefits usually must be the same for all employees, no matter what their ages,” Brown said.

If your prospective employer has more than 20 employees, you could designate your primary health-benefits provider as either Medicare or the company health plan.

If you choose the company’s insurance as your primary carrier, you can still remain with Medicare, he said. But under that scenario your employer’s plan would pay your claims first, with Medicare possibly paying for services the company plan doesn’t cover.

Employees at smaller companies–fewer than 20 employees–may have less flexibility. Those workers may be required to choose Medicare as their primary health insurer, Brown said.

If life insurance is offered, the company must spend at least as much for you as it does for younger employees, Brown said. However, you could legally receive less coverage because insurance premiums for older employees cost more, Brown said.