No longer just announcements on the door: in the eyes of ombudsmen, a law that prevents older people from performing direct tasks

“We are currently reviewing legislation. (…) The problem is that it is binding legislation for employers in a particular field. Such legislation states that service workers must not be over the age of 60. It is clear that an employer who must implement this provision must take some measures to prevent older people from performing these tasks.

Then the big question arises: will you be able to train him to perform other job functions so that they can work to dissociate themselves from the provision of those services? If there is no such possibility, who will cover the difference in lost wages? (…) There is a risk that older employees will suffer because they will not be guaranteed equal pay, “said Vytis Muliuolis, Head of the Legal Department of the Office of the Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities, on Tuesday in the program from News Radio.

A spokesman for the Office of the Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities said the investigation began after one of the employees approached him and anxiously asked how the employer could handle the case.

Delfi’s broader interest revealed a decision by the Ministry of Health on COVID-19 management measures for the organization of child care in institutions.

One of the clauses of this resolution requires ensuring that children belonging to the risk group do not work directly with children in the place of provision of care services.

People at risk are defined as those who are over 60 years of age. age and / or suffers from chronic diseases specified in Order no. V-483: human immunodeficiency virus disease; malignant tumors (if the disease has been diagnosed or has worsened and if less than 2 years have passed since the end of treatment); Diabetes; cardiovascular disease with chronic heart failure grade 2-4;

chronic respiratory diseases with respiratory failure; chronic kidney disease with kidney failure; condition after autologous bone marrow and organ transplant; diseases currently treated with chemotherapy or general or selective radiotherapy and diseases for which 2 years have not elapsed since the end of treatment with these methods; diseases currently treated with immunosuppression corresponding to methylprednisolone 10 mg / kg / day and diseases for which 6 months have not elapsed since the end of this treatment; congenital immunodeficiency; other serious chronic diseases with immunosuppressive therapy).

In its investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities will try to clarify two key questions: whether the word “insure” means “insure” and how the employee will be paid.

The institution is overwhelmed by complaints

The staff of the Office of the Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities are working smoothly.

“The number of applications has increased several times. Since we currently do not have the opportunity to consult directly with interested parties, we do so by phone. Our five attorneys spend most of their time consulting on topics that are most often related to consequences of the coronavirus, that is, limiting conditions, “Muliuolis told Knowledge Radio.

The institution’s lawyer pointed out that not only binding but also recommendations can be problematic.

“If we want to protect people who are in a higher risk group, either because of their age or because of their health, that message should be addressed directly to them and not in some public notes,” said Muliuolis.

In his opinion, the initiative of the large retail chains to dedicate certain hours of work to buying older people could be considered a positive example. The specialist said that he himself, being outside the risk group, deliberately tends not to go to supermarkets during those hours.