    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 10 (Monday, March 10, 1997)]
    [Pages 312-313]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Proclamation 6978--National Older Workers Employment Week, 1997

    March 7, 1997

    By the President of the United States

    of America

    A Proclamation

        American workers age 55 and older represent one of our country's
    richest resources, and the value of their potential contribution to our
    society is immense. An estimated 70 percent of all Americans age 55 and
    older already actively contribute to our common good--by working, by
    volunteering, and by caring for sick and disabled relatives, friends,
    and neighbors.
        Despite their qualifications, however, many of these Americans
    experience serious difficulty finding work if they lose a job or desire
    new employment. Their search for employment can become increasingly
    challenging as they grow older.
        Our laws and government agencies can--and do--offer protections,
    programs, and services for older workers. The Age Discrimination Act,
    the Older Americans Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
    all recognize the unique rights of such employees, and the Department of
    Labor alone

    [[Page 313]]

    helps thousands of workers each year through efforts such as the Senior
    Community Service Employment Program.
        But it is up to employers also to recognize the potential of older
    Americans as employees--to recognize that by every common measure of job
    performance, older workers are as effective as younger people because of
    their unique skills, experiences, and judgment. And, it is appropriate
    that we designate a week to acknowledge that all workers should be
    judged and employed on the basis of their individual ability to do a
    job, regardless of age.
        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 9 through March 15,
    1997, as National Older Workers Employment Week, and I urge all
    employers when they hire new workers to consider carefully the skills
    and other qualifications of men and women age 55 and older. I also
    encourage public officials responsible for job placement, training, and
    related services to intensify their efforts throughout the year to help
    older workers locate available jobs and training.
        In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of
    March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of
    the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
    twenty-first.
                                                William J. Clinton

    [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., March 10,
    1997]

    Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on
    March 11.