[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 11983-11984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6457]



[[Page 11981]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part III





The President





_______________________________________________________________________



Proclamation 7072--National Older Workers Employment Week, 1998
 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 47 / Wednesday, March 11, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

 ___________________________________________________________________

 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 11983]]

                Proclamation 7072 of March 5, 1998

                
National Older Workers Employment Week, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Americans are living longer, healthier lives. As a 
                Nation, we are witnessing a dramatic growth in the 
                population of Americans aged 55 and older, a trend that 
                will continue well into the next century. To maintain 
                our dynamic economy and to fill the jobs of the 21st 
                century, we must make the most of the creative 
                potential and productive capacity of this growing 
                segment of our society.

                Unfortunately, many Americans aged 55 and older 
                encounter serious difficulty finding employment when 
                they lose their jobs or seek to change careers. 
                Employers too often focus on the age of older workers 
                instead of their qualifications and strong work ethic. 
                By failing to recognize the wealth of skills and 
                experience older workers can bring to their jobs, such 
                employers deny them an equal opportunity to make their 
                own valuable contributions to the American workplace.

                To counter these challenges, laws and government 
                programs offer older workers the protections and 
                services they need to ensure fair employment 
                opportunities and practices. The Age Discrimination 
                Act, the Older Americans Act, and the Age 
                Discrimination in Employment Act protect the basic 
                rights of millions of older working Americans. The 
                Department of Labor and the Department of Health and 
                Human Services also assist older workers through such 
                efforts as the Senior Community Service Employment 
                Program and the programs of the Administration on 
                Aging.

                Older Americans actively contribute to our communities 
                through their hard work, wisdom, and experience. They 
                have rightly earned our admiration and respect; they 
                have also earned a fair chance at a good job. As we 
                observe National Older Workers Employment Week, I urge 
                all employers, when they hire new workers, to consider 
                carefully the skills and other qualifications of men 
                and women aged 55 and older and to fully utilize this 
                rich national resource.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me 
                by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do 
                hereby proclaim March 8 through March 14, 1998, as 
                National Older Workers Employment Week. I encourage all 
                Americans to recognize the contributions that older 
                workers make to the workplace and to our economy, and I 
                urge public officials responsible for job placement, 
                training, and related services to intensify their 
                efforts throughout the year to help older Americans 
                find suitable jobs and training.

[[Page 11984]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of 
                the United States of America the two hundred and 
                twenty-second.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-6457
Filed 3-10-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P