ODEP - Office of Disability Employment Policy
Disability Employment Policy Resources by Topic
Older Workers
Today, a confluence of factors is prompting America to change the way it thinks about age and work. The economic downturn, shifting perceptions of retirement, increased workplace flexibility and the aging of the "baby boom" generation are all contributing to people working longer. Many of these capable, experienced mature workers develop disabilities as they age, or existing disabilities may become more significant. To retain the talents of these valuable, skilled workers, employers can implement a variety of workplace practices, many of which benefit all workers and make good business sense. The following resources provide more information about the topic of older workers:
Reports from ODEP's NTAR Leadership Center
National Technical Assistance and Research Center to Promote Leadership for Increasing the Employment and Economic Independence of Adults with Disabilities (NTAR Leadership Center) issued these reports that examine the disability implications of an aging workforce.
- The Aging Workforce: The Role of Medical Professionals in Helping Older Workers and Workers with Disabilities to Stay at Work or Return to Work and Remain Employed — This report documents the discussion and findings from a September 2012 one-day, invitation-only roundtable titled the same as the report. The purpose of the event was to explore the relationships among medical professionals, employers, and the public workforce and vocational rehabilitation systems in terms of their current and desired roles in preventing needless work disability. “Disability” in this context is defined as the absence from work due to a medical condition. Participants were asked to reflect on the challenges in engaging the medical community in helping older individuals with disabilities, or who are experiencing reduced functionality, to stay at work and remain successfully employed until they choose to retire.
- The Aging Workforce: Challenges for the Health Care Industry Workforce — Because the aging of the U.S. population has tremendous implications for the health care industry, both as employers of an older workforce and as providers of services to a growing number of older patients, ODEP funded the NTAR Leadership Center to convene a one-day symposium entitled The Aging Workforce: Challenges for the Health Care Industry Workforce in January 2012. Recognizing the vital role played by the health care industry in the state of New Jersey, this symposium was hosted by NTAR in partnership with the New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission and the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University. This brief identifies promising strategies from that symposium and offers some encouraging and notable examples from the participants that policymakers and employers could pursue to address the challenges of an aging health care workforce.
- The Public Workforce System: Serving Older Job Seekers and the Disability Implications of an Aging Workforce
- Employer Strategies for Responding to an Aging Workforce
- Impact of Federal Policies on an Aging Workforce with Disabilities
ODEP and other DOL agency resources
- Recruitment and Retention of Older Workers: Considerations for Employers — ODEP-funded study that examined practices and strategies implemented by U.S. companies seeking to recruit and retain older workers.
- Recruitment and Retention of Older Workers: Application to People with Disabilities — Report based on above study that identifies strategies that have benefit for both older workers and workers with disabilities.
- Job Accommodation Network guidance on accommodations for employees who are aging.
- Accommodation and Compliance Series: Employees who are Aging
- Job Accommodations for the Aging Workforce — JAN Effective Accommodation Practices Series
- Our Aging Workforce: A Look at the Benefits of Job Accommodation — JAN's Consultants' Corner
- JAN Webcast: Employing and Accommodating an Aging Workforce. This one hour webcast gives an overview of how to accommodate an aging workforce, including steps to an inclusive process, available assistive technologies, and accommodation examples focused on accommodation ideas for aging workers who have hearing, vision, mobility, or cognitive impairments.
- Report of the Taskforce on the Aging of the American Workforce — Findings of a taskforce convened by DOL's Employment and Training Administration and on which ODEP served. Two additional resources resulting from this taskforce include:
- Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) — ETA-funded community service and work-based program that provides subsidized training for low-income persons 55 or older who are unemployed and have poor employment prospects.
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1975
- Report on Current Strategies To Employ and Retaining Older Workers
- Statistical Spotlight Older Workers
Other resources
- Making Work More Flexible: Opportunities and Evidence — This report considers the availability, utilization, and demand for workplace flexibility, with a particular emphasis on older workers. Although many aspects of flexibility can benefit workers of any age, the desire of some older workers to phase into retirement introduces some special considerations.
- Phased Retirement and Flexible Retirement Arrangements: Strategeis for Retaining Skilled Workers — Implementing appealing work arrangements that attract and retain workers 50+ may become increasingly important in an organization's bid to survive in today's marketplace. Phased retirement, which allows the employee to reduce work time in his or her current job, is regarded as one strategy to encourage hard-to-replace, experienced workers to postpone leaving the labor force. This report discusses the factors influencing the business need for phased retirement, how to create a phased retirement program, how to market a phased retirement program to employees, challenges in implementing phased retirement, proposed regulatory solutions, and cutting-edge employee programs.
- Protecting Family Caregivers from Employment Discrimination (AARP Public Policy Institute) — This report is the first in a series of AARP Public Policy Institute papers on issues of eldercare and the workplace. It highlights the realities of changing demographics and issues affecting working caregivers of older adults. It defines family responsibilities discrimination (FRD), explains why FRD is a policy matter, and describes the types of workplace discrimination encountered by working caregivers.
- Highlights of a GAO Forum: Engaging and Retaining Older Workers
- Older Workers: Some Best Practices and Strategies for Engaging and Retaining Older Workers
- AARP Workforce Assessment Tool — Free, confidential tool that helps employers assess current and future workforce needs, anticipate skill shortages, and build on company strengths to attract and retain experienced workers.
- Staying Ahead of the Curve: The AARP Work and Career Study — Exploration of the perspectives and work-related needs of older workers today and tomorrow.
