Condon McGlothen Quoted in HR Magazine

An article ("Checking the exits: if you haven't estimated how you will be affected by the expected surge in retirements, start preparing now") in the August 2005 issue of HR Magazine offering advice to management in the event of a surge in retirements at the same time includes quotes from Condon McGlothlen.

"One of the biggest challenges facing human resource managers is determining how their companies will be affected by the departures of those now eligible, or soon to be eligible, to retire. The demographics are clear: The number of workers 55 or older is expected to grow 50 percent by 2012, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The major impact of retirements, experts say, will be felt by the more mature workforces, such as those in manufacturing, utilities and the public sector. In fact, 69 percent of federal supervisors will be eligible for retirement by 2007, according to the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group that studies federal personnel issues. Whatever urgency the experts may express, it appears that most companies have not made much headway in determining the scope of voluntary retirements they face in the next few years. The results of the 2005 Future of the U.S. Labor Pool survey by the Society for Human Resource Management show that 39 percent of the 387 HR professionals who responded said they were just beginning to plan for large-scale retirements, and 38 percent said they were just becoming aware of the issue.

Although an employee survey is not likely to spark an age discrimination lawsuit, it can complicate matters for a company already accused of age bias. "There is case law of this happening," says Condon McGlothlen, a partner in the Seyfarth Shaw LLP law firm in Chicago. There have been cases of such surveys being used as plaintiffs' evidence to try to prove an atmosphere of discrimination, he says. McGlothlen says he doubts the legal risks in surveying would be outweighed by the value of the information obtained. "People do change their minds, and the further out you plan, the less reliable the information will be. You're going to get a significant number of 'I don't knows.' I think it would be of marginal benefit." If a company decides, however, that surveying employees is its only way to estimate the impact of large-scale retirements, McGlothlen advises that the company make it clear, in written and spoken communication, that the survey is voluntary, it is not a condition of employment, and no adverse action will result because of it."