Latest news with #age discrimination
CTV News
01-08-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Ontario senior denied rental car because he surpassed the company's age requirement
One Ontario man reached out to CTV News after he was denied renting a vehicle because he was more than 79-years-old. CTV's Pat Foran reports. One Ontario man reached out to CTV News after he was denied renting a vehicle because he was more than 79-years-old. CTV's Pat Foran reports. A man hoping to rent a car to drive from Ontario to British Columbia to visit family said he was denied because he was over 79 years old. John Januszczak and his wife Carol Anne of Oakville, Ont., recently visited with family in British Columbia. Before they departed from Toronto, the couple told CTV News they booked a rental car, however, when they arrived at the rental counter in Victoria, they said they were turned down. 'When John handed (over) his driver's licence the woman at the counter said, 'Oh dear, I'm sorry we can't rent to you because you're over 79 years old,'' said Carol Anne. 'We had never heard of that before.' Carol Anne was still 79 for another three months, so she was able to rent the vehicle, but John, who is 85, wasn't allowed to get behind the wheel. The couple said the situation could have been worse had Carol Anne not been within the company's age range. 'If you had a trip arranged and you put deposits on hold and you put deposits on hotels, that could be quite costly,' John said. The Januszczaks said the vehicle they rented was with National Car Rental, whose parent company is Enterprise Mobility. When CTV News reached out to the company on the Januszczak's behalf, a spokesperson said in a statement, 'The National Car Rental branch in Victoria, BC, is operated by an independent licensee, which sets its own policies and procedures.' 'Their age requirements for rental are outlined on their website, under Key Facts & Policies, when you begin a reservation.' Every car rental company is different. Some could deny you a rental if you're over the age of 79, or over the age of 70 outside of Canada. You can also be denied a rental if you're younger than 21 or 25 years old. Certain companies also cite limited driving experience, bad credit rating, an invalid driver's licence or improper forms of payment as reasons why a rental request could be denied. It's recommended to always check the fine print when making any reservations. 'If we were going on a big trip with a family or another couple, we could get there and find out that none of us could drive,' said Carol Anne.
ABC News
21-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Ending ageism would boost productivity
Sabra Lane: Do you consider 50 old? Employers do, according to a new report out today. The Age Discrimination Commission says biases against both older and younger generations are harming workforce productivity in a time of severe skill shortages. National Work reporter Bronwyn Herbert. Bronwyn Herbert: Bob Epps was at the peak of his career in senior management when he was unexpectedly made redundant in his mid-50s. He picked up piecemeal contract work but repeated rejections left him gutted. Bob Epps: I would have applied for over 100 jobs in that C-suite, senior, GM and upwards level roles and I didn't even get one interview. In fact I didn't even get one thank you, positive response to those applications. Bronwyn Herbert: A new report jointly produced by the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Human Resources Institute has found almost a quarter of HR professionals now classify workers aged 51 to 55 as older. That's up from 10% two years ago. Sarah McCann-Bartlett is the CEO of the HR Institute. Sarah McCann-Bartlett: The report showed that Australian employers still have some age biases that are hindering productivity. We can see that because of this reluctance to hire workers over or under a certain age, employers in a very tight labour market are actually restricting their access to talent and to really great skills, experience and or potential for the organisation. Bronwyn Herbert: Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald is also a former Productivity Commissioner. Robert Fitzgerald: Unless Australia acknowledges that it's an ageing society and unless it embraces the employment of older workers, that means increasing the labour force participation rate significantly, then we won't solve the productivity problem that Australia has and we certainly won't solve the labour shortages that now beset many industries including health care, age care and disability. Bronwyn Herbert: Nicole Gorton is a Director at recruitment firm Robert Half. She believes those hiring are making assumptions about how tech savvy candidates are. Nicole Gorton: When I am speaking to organisations and to hiring managers, they have a strong appetite for digital fluency, the adoption of technology, the adoption of AI and when you haven't grown up with it and you have to learn it, I think that then therefore there is a perception the older, more experienced worker has not got some of those skill sets. Bronwyn Herbert: The report makes 18 recommendations including age neutral job ads and reviewing recruitment tools like automated AI resume screeners to ensure they don't enable age based bias. Sabra Lane: Bronwyn Herbert there.
