Considering age . . . .

System

Let's say you have a labor intensive department like public works. The lifting requirement is 50 pounds and the environment is any type of weather. Granted, some jobs are easier than others like painting curbs, cutting grass, raising & lowering the flags, etc. You have three employees who are 60 - 65 who say this is just getting too hard for them. Now what? Do you give them the easiest tasks or do you say, "sorry, but . . . ." (you know the rest).

We have 3 more employees in this group next year. We'll have 4 more in a few years. As you might imagine, because of their age, they are near their 30 year retirement.

Thanks in advance - I know I can count on y'all.

LivindonSouth

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-10-05 AT 02:30PM (CST)[/font][br][br]If they are unionized, you won't have much control of the matter. If not, and you have pay grades and those jobs are structured into a lower pay scale, you could let the worker opt to go to a lower grade with lower pay in order to have a less strenuous job.

If you come up with some magical age at which you think somebody ought to be painting curbs instead of running a bush-hog all day long, then what do you do with women who claim they need a lighter duty or those with physical problems who ask "what about me?".

When you decide what to do about this one, let's figure out how to get light duty for older HR people who are exhausted from decades of it.


(If you're lucky, this will be one of these 'advanced' issues that you'll learn the answer to in D.C.)

marc

Or...... you could promote them to managemeent. x0:)

Hunter1

"Sorry, but..." The essential functions of the job require that they be able to do manual labor. If you create light duty jobs for these individuals, you know what you're setting yourself up for. Unless/until they have a medically certified disability which you will have to go through the interactive process about, they have to be able to do the essential functions.
We, of course, have the same situation, and, from a practical standpoint, their supervisor is probably not going to expect as much out of them as the other employees, but from an 'official' standpoint, they have to be able to do the job. Again, from a practical standpoint, they might know how to do the job 'better' rather than 'harder', so they may very well be able to complete their tasks as well as others.
We rely on these people for their institutional memory and experience. (Who knows what to do when 5th and Maple is flooded during a rain storm??) In addition, other employees will judge us based on how we treat these individuals after 30 years of service. It's a fine line, but the job still has to get done.
Not much help, hmm?

Crout

What do their job descriptions state? What are the essential functions of the job? Unless, as Don suggested, you can slot them into a lower grade reflecting the less strenuous work, I would hold them to the jd's.

pork1

S MOLL: I am 64 and fast approaching 65 I will se the SSA counselor later this month. I for one resent the identification of us as weaken and deserving lesser paying jobs. I bet if you let the senior citizens in your work place know that their supervisor is the responsible person and he will assign each person the appropriate task to get the jobs done. Put the power in the hands of the superviosrs and make them decide the plight of the senior work force. For some of us physical work is difficult but I have become smarter and less able to use my young muscles so I use my old brain and the work gets accomplished.

Don't let us pld folks get over, we should be able to contribute or decide to move on and let the younger people get the physical work done. You can bet I will leave if I can not contribute a days work for a days pay.

PORK, Old pork is better than no pork at all!!!

System

"I for one resent the identification of us as weaken and deserving lesser paying jobs."

Pork, the weakening of the graying workforce is not an insuation. It's a fact. These employees say they cannot handle those jobs anymore.

"I bet if you let the senior citizens in your work place know that their supervisor is the responsible person and he will assign each person the appropriate task to get the jobs done. Put the power in the hands of the superviosrs and make them decide the plight of the senior work force."

You'll lose that bet. It's the supervisors who are saying, "if they can't cut it, get rid of 'em." It's 'yours truly' saying 'no' to that notion and opting to restructure some of the jobs.

"For some of us physical work is difficult but I have become smarter and less able to use my young muscles so I use my old brain and the work gets accomplished."

Your old brain must be smarter than our aged workers. Ours can't seem to look at a water main break and will it to be fixed without their young muscles.

"We should be able to contribute or decide to move on and let the younger people get the physical work done. You can bet I will leave if I can not contribute a days work for a days pay."

Well, Pork, that's you. Our crew does not think the same way. They don't contemplate leaving if they cannot contribute a days work for a days pay. They ask for alternate assignments. Unfortunately, they cannot all be given a bucket of yellow paint to paint curbs. For cryin' out loud, there would be nowhere to park.

"PORK, Old pork is better than no pork at all!!! "

I agree with your last remark. I'm sure at any age you're a productive and valued employee.

LivindonSouth

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-12-05 AT 12:20PM (CST)[/font][br][br]Smoll: I agree with your posts. Any of us will get older and not be able to perform manual work sooner or later. Why pretend it won't happen?

crawfod

Shirley, the tasks have to be done and they're the only ones being paid to do them, and treating them equally is essential. If your city can afford it, give the workers the best tools and power equipment you can to minimize their physical efforts. Most of our older PWK employees have been promoted to Equipment Operator or Crew Leader positions, and the entry level positions are filled by workers who still have physical skills.