Hiring a landscaper

You have a small landscaping company and have so much work you need to hire a new landscaper this year. There is a lot of physical work involved in being a landscaper, so you put out a job ad looking for a young person who is fit and strong enough to do all the digging, lifting, and carrying required for the job. You think this job would be good for a young person because you can teach them, and they will be physically able to do the work. You take a call from someone interested in the job. The person sounds like a hard worker and knows quite a bit about landscaping already. You ask them their age and they say they are turning 40. You tell the person not to send their resume. You are looking for someone younger so they can do all the physical work.  

• Are you meeting your responsibilities under the Code?

  No, you are not meeting your responsibilities under the Code. You are refusing to consider an applicant because of their age, without making any inquiries into their actual ability to do the work. You are assuming that only someone who is “younger” is physically capable of doing the job. Instead of excluding people from a job opportunity because they are too old, you should include information and questions about the capacity and skills required for the position in the job advertisement and interview.

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