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Connecticut Lawmakers Tackle Ageism In Hiring

Richard Drew
/
AP

A bipartisan group of Connecticut lawmakers say they will introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session to prevent age discrimination in hiring.

Senator Derek Slap, a West Hartford Democrat who is the new Senate chair of the aging committee, says online employment applications discriminate against older workers because they require information like graduation dates that employers could use to determine an applicant’s age.

“Which means older workers are getting vetted before they ever get a chance to get to the interview process. We want to give our older workers a shot.”

Republican Representative Mitch Bolinsky of Newtown says that’s why their bill mandates online applications not require such information.

“It doesn’t ask employers not to do anything that they are not required to do in the screening process except consider someone instead of letting an algorithm eliminate them.”

Nora Duncan with the Connecticut AARP says her group supports the bill.  

“In a recent survey by AARP, 44% of respondents aged 45 or older who applied or interviewed for a job in the previous two years were asked age-related questions on their applications. So the issue is real, and this is going to solve for it.”

A similar bill was introduced last year but failed to pass.

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year.