ABSTRACT
With the aging American workforce, employees are “aging gracefully” and remaining in the workplace longer, by either choice or economic necessity. Safety professionals now and in the near future will encounter new and different challenges in safeguarding the aging worker within the private sector workplace. The physical skills set as well as cognitive skill level may diminish with time; however, the experience and expertise the older worker brings to the workplace is often invaluable. With this changing workplace, safety professionals should be aware of the various federal and state laws that offer protection to the older employee against discrimination in the workplace based upon his or her age.
