New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Discrimination in Employment of the Middle-Aged Subject and Survey Files

Alphabetic by subject.

The series contains records gathered by the committee from industries, labor unions, business organizations, and state and federal government for its investigation of job discrimination against persons over forty years of age.

The series consists of correspondence, hearing testimony, interviews, newspaper clippings, copies of articles and speeches, surveys, reports, charts, and draft legislation relating to age discrimination and related topics such as worker's compensation, health and life insurance, employee accidents, and worker adjustment and retraining. Some of the correspondence is to or from the committee chair, James J. Wadsworth.

There are approximately 325 two-page survey forms from unidentified businesses relating to hiring and firing practices. The forms include such information as: number and ages of employees; preference of ages for employees; existence of maximum age limits for employees; and policies of retaining employees past the period of maximum usefulness.

There is also a summary of a survey with information from approximately 100 labor unions on the nature and extent of age discrimination by industries in the state. The survey information includes: name of union; extent of and reasons for age discrimination; industries with the best and worst records on age discrimination, and suggestions on how age discrimination can be controlled.

Microfilm is available for use at the New York State Archives or through interlibrary loan.

Folder list is available at the repository.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.