Institutional ageism is prevalent in many tech companies and this has been true for at least decades with Mark Zuckerberg's widely-circulated "young people are just smarter" quote from 2007. IT workers experience more age discrimination than many other professions. However, this biased attitude toward older workers which persists across the IT sector, is not just limited to the private sector and Fortune 500 companies. IT Network administrators working for public entities such just as towns, counties and the state, experience the same prejudiced attitudes. They are all too frequently forced out of jobs and replaced by younger, though not more qualified, workers. Unfortunately, many public IT workers are discovering they do not have more job security than those working in the private sector.
What is shocking to many, is to learn is how young IT workers may be who experience this age bias. Many IT worker think they will not have to be concerned about it until they are in their 50's. But a recent 2022 compilation of surveys found that among professional IT developers, workers who are 18 to 34 years old comprise over 62 percent of the workforce. Those 25 to 34 years old comprise almost 40% of the workforce. For those older than 34 years, the drop in parentage of workers decreases rapidly to under 20% for those ages 35 to 40. The decrease accelerates rapidly with workers aged 55 to 64, comprising less than 3%; and it is less than 1% for those age 65 and older.
There is a perception among both those who are in public upper management, many who have less experience in IT than the IT Network Administrators who work under them, and in the private sector, that older workers without exception do not keep current with changes in IT technology. This is a bias circulated frequently, a bias that may be hard do to overcome. The old adage that if you tell a lie frequently enough, certain people will believe it to be true.
I have represented IT workers and older employees who were pushed out of jobs because of their age and was successful in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering and moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages. If you think you are being pushed out of your job because of your age, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation.
If You Quit Your Job, You May Lose Right to Prevail in a Lawsuit
In many instances of discrimination, if you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of quitting, or think you will be fired, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options in the safest way for you.
Let me fight for you. If you think you may have been discriminated against, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation. I accept discrimination and whistleblower cases from all over New Jersey.
What You Can Do
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing persons who were discriminated against at work. I am successful in bringing employee lawsuits against governmental entities and private employers and recovering money for victims of race, sex, age, disability, LGBTQ, and other discrimination.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Union, Plainfield, Lakewood, Edison and every county, including Bergen, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, and Morris.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law has convenient locations in Southern, Central, Western and Northern NJ to meet with clients.