Klarinet Archive - Posting 000057.txt from 2008/11

From: "Matthew Lloyd" <matthew@-----.uk>
Subj: RE: [kl] After Drucker
Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:08:41 -0500

European Law provides remedies against age discrimination. So the Berlin
Philharmonic must have either changed their policies, or are prepared to
face action in the courts... Penny also mentions ONE European Orchestra -
there are rather more than that.

Matthew Lloyd

Mr. Brash wrote:
So what this is saying, is that my previous posts were 100%
completely correct in terms of facts. Mandatory retirement did once
exist, and still does in some European orchestras. Therefore, I'd
humbly submit that this is a legitimate idea which deserves
discussion, and not ad hominem attacks on my naiveness? :)

On Nov 8, 2008, at 6:56 PM, Penny Sprynet wrote:

> The Age Discrimination in Employment Act was passed in 1967. Most
> orchestras did practice some form of mandatory retirement age
> before then, though it was bent and molded to match their
> preferences for a particular member most of the time. These were
> internal decisions, and they had far less oversight at that time by
> the AFM, who stepped in to enforce the ADEA in the early 1970s,
> helping several people win cases against their former employers, so
> today US orchestras no longer have such wording in their contracts.
>
> I understand that the Berlin Philharmonic still has a mandatory
> retirement age of 65, which they believe keeps their orchestra
> "young," but whether that improves it or not cannot be known. As
> far as other orchestras in Europe, I don't know their specific
> policies. On the other hand, in most countries in Europe your
> retirement years are not so financially precarious as they are
> likely to be here.
>

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