4 ms·

A much easier form of age discrimination would be to simply not hire older people. Why bother with the hassle of setting up a trial program?

• iends 13y ago
  Because being too obvious is illegal?
• dinkumthinkum 13y ago
  In the United States, this is totally illegal.
• michaelochurch 13y ago
  Most age discrimination isn't overt or explicit. It's "cultural". They don't care if you're 45, but most of these VC-funded startups don't want to hire and promote people who (a) don't drink, (b) show up before 10:00 and leave before 7:00, (c) never discuss their sex lives and work and avoid others' disclosures thereof, and (d) aren't interested in moving into management, which being a 45-year-old programmer implies. But there are a few especially juvenile older people that I've seen fit in to the VC-funded culture. Also, older programmers (even those who've declined management by choice) threaten the lie on which the VC-funded world stands, which is that being a subordinate engineer (and getting jack-shit equity) at 22 is a sure path to being an exec at 27, a founder at 31, and an investor (either an angel, meaning "rich", or a VC, meaning "given a soft landing") at 35. The brutal career age-grading comes from a need to exclude those who refute the lie of promised progress.
• toomuchtodo 13y ago
  Because that engineering budget you just had now became your legal counsel budget.