An employer who includes medical coverage will not want an older employee due to higher medical costs. In fact, their insurer will suggest not hiring older employees and those with medical conditions for that reason. Even if an employer doesn't provide medical benefits he will be hesitant due to the higher likelihood of injury (statistically). How do I know that? My sister was hired at an employment agency. After a few weeks, a co-worker saw her giving herself insulin & told her boss, "That new girl is giving herself some sort of injection."
Her boss asked her what it was. She said, "Insulin; I'm diabetic."
Her boss got angry & said, "Why didn't you tell me you were diabetic before I hired you?"
She said, "You didn't ask me & it has nothing to do with my job; I'm not driving a bus or flying a passenger plane."
The only reason he asked was because he wouldn't have hired her if he knew she had a chronic condition.
She's been working there for 20 years now. Her boss' attorney probably warned him what would happen if he fired her; he'd face a big lawsuit for discrimination...and he'd lose, big time.
In many situations, honesty = unemployment. I know a guy who was successfully treated for cancer. That caused a gap of several months in his employment history. During his interviews, the employer asked about that gap & he was honest, telling him he was treated for cancer. After many interviews without being hired, I suggested he not be so honest & say the gap was due to him caring for his sick mother who had since died. He was hired within a week.
Yeah...sure, there are laws protecting job applicants from age discrimination, but employers know how to get around them. They're not allowed to ask how old you are, but it's easy to figure out by asking on the application when you graduated from high school. Or, when you fill out that W-2 form & it asks for your birth date. Sure, they're not supposed to have you fill it out until they offer you a job, but they frequently do. If you voice objections, even though the law is on your side, your application will be "accepted" & thrown in the trash when you leave. They'll consider you to be a "troublemaker." And even if they have you fill it out after they offer you a job, if they think you're too old, they can come up with a reason to terminate you, because your employment is usually "At Will," which means they can terminate your employment without a reason.
