[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.