According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median age of the U.S. labor force has increased from 34.6 years to 39.2 years from the early 1980’s to 2000, and will reach 41 years by 2008. The graying of America’s labor force is spawning a growing sensitivity to age discrimination in the workplace, and legislation such as the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 is allowing workers access to age-specific data on employees who are laid off by employers. Older workers, upon examining the data, conclude that they are the targets of job cuts and the victims of age discrimination.
See "Older workers say job cuts due to age discrimination", Adam Geller, USA Today, July 2, 2001