IL Attorney General Says Job Search Sites May Be Age-Discriminating
By Stephen Gossett in News on Mar 2, 2017 10:34PM
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Some of the most prominent job-search sites in the country could be engaging in age discrimination based on how their websites' function; and the Illinois Attorney General is warning them to fix the problem.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sent letters on Thursday to six job-search companies—including CareerBuilder, which is headquartered in the Loop—requesting information about procedures that appear to limit based on age how users can upload important resume details on websites and apps.
In addition to CareerBuilder, Madigan sent letters to Beyond.com, Indeed Inc., Ladders Inc., Monster Worldwide Inc. and Vault.
Some of the oversights described by the state AG's office sound particularly egregious for older prospective workers seeking employment. In one instance, users couldn't add any education or employment start dates prior to 1980, effectively shutting out persons older than 52, Madigan's office found.
“Today’s workforce includes many people working in their 70s and 80s,” Madigan said in a press release. “Barring older people from commonly used job search sites because of their age is discriminatory and negatively impacts our economy.”
A spokesperson for CareerBuilder declined to comment on specific operational limitations on the company's website, but said the company is addressing the problem.
"CareerBuilder is committed to helping workers of all ages find job opportunities, and is fixing this unfortunate oversight," Jennifer Sullivan Grasz, vice president of corporate communications for CareerBuilder, told Chicagoist by email.
Ladders told Chicagoist via email that the company has has not received a letter from Madigan to date, but denied taking part in such practices. "Our site does not restrict the dates on resumes that people submit to us," Ladders said. "In fact, to combat age discrimination we do not ask for a year of graduation from college. Our optional work experience section limits your experience to the past 50 years. We have spoken publicly about this topic and feel very passionate about combatting age discrimination in the workforce. What we have shared with job seekers is our belief that to effectively market yourself it is best not to discuss work experience from more than twenty years ago. You can find that information here."
The Civil Rights Bureau of the state Attorney General is also looking into the companies' practices.
More Americans above the age of 65—nearly 20 percent—are working than at any time since the early 1960s, Bloomberg noted last year, in an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
This post has been updated.