A couple of days ago, my little brother (Texas 405) called me with an odd question. I thought I taught him better, but I guess living in the big city has warped his mind.

He became unemployed a few weeks ago--at will employment, you know. He is an outside sales guy, and has been interviewing with all sorts of employers in his industry. He's also been asked to take several psychological tests, and has a problem with them.

Each of these tests has asked his age, and he feels that is inappropriate. He wonders whether it is legal to ask an applicant's age. I've reminded him that it is perfectly legal to ask--the difficulty for an employer comes in ensuring that a decision of employment is not based on the applicant's age.

Now Texas 405 thinks I'm puttin' the shuck on him, because it's virtually impossible not to act on information that is discovered in the screening process, and he's skeptical that the applicants in their mid-20s are being hired because they will work for less than he will, and he's over 40. Ah, well!

On a sad note, I have to pull the plug on my own participation here, at the end of the month. The nature of my job has changed, and I won't be able to monitor LLT, or to reliably add to the discussion. I've enjoyed the almost year I've hung around here, and I've learned a lot!

I appreciate the help, guidance, humor, and intelligence of the moderators and the regular contributors, as well as the challenges and occasional laughs offered by the droppers in. I'll try to drop by from time to time, but I'm out of pocket as of April Fools Day. (Seems somehow fitting.)

HOOK 'EM HORNS!!
and
GOD BLESS TEXAS!!

Good bye and good luck! I hope you enjoy your new opportunities!

HOOK 'EM HORNS, BABY!
#1 IN FOOTBALL (VINCE, YOU ARE BREAKING MY HEART, BUT I UNDERSTAND)
#1 IN BASEBALL
#1 IN WOMEN'S TRACK
WENT TO THE ELITE EIGHT

God, I love Texas! Take care of yourself and may you have an interesting life.

I'm very sorry to hear that, Texas. Your expertise will be missed. Hopefully you'll get the chance to check in once in a while.

Hope all goes well for you. All the best in your new job.

Ah, fooey, Texas, you'll be missed. Hope you can drop in from time to time. After all, there's always weekends. :D

Congrats and good luck!

Thanks for all the kind words, folks. As you know, sometimes they're hard to come by. I do appreciate the work you all do on this forum. It's a very valuable resource, and is spot on with information, when people take the opportunity to read.

I'll try to come by from time to time--I understand they have the internet on computers now (Homer Simpson).

Patty, next time you're in Central Texas, let me know. I'll show you some wonderful Mexican food, and it's not at Taco Bell "just like they have in California". You might want to bring some seafood with you when you come.

Now, on to the Final Four--Geaux Tigers.

Refer your brother to EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov/types/age.html. My baby brother stopped listening to me when he got married. Of course, his wife swears that he doesn't pay any attention to her either.