AARP Honors Four Texas-Based Employers

Applications Set Record For 9 Year Old Program; New Hospital-Health Care Honor Established

Four Texas-based employers made AARP’s 2009 list of Best Employers for Workers 50 and Over announced today by AARP CEO Barry Rand.

MEI Technologies, based in Houston; San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind, based in San Antonio; and the University of St Thomas in Houston join an impressive list of 50 Best Employers honorees from around the country.

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has been recognized on the Hospitals-Health Care list of Best Employers for Workers Over 50. The university was one of only 15 health care and hospital institutions nationally to make this list.

More than 200 employers applied for Best Employers honors, the highest total in the nine year history of the program designed to highlight exemplary policies toward aged 50 and over workers.

“We are delighted that these employers have been selected,” said Bob Jackson, AARP Texas State Director, “They offer a number of progressive policies in their approach toward older workers,” he added.

A separate hospitals and health care Best Employers honor roll was established by AARP for the first time this year. AARP decided to set up a separate category in order to acknowledge efforts in the health care field to creatively deal with shortages in qualified workers that have faced the health care industry for years.

Any U.S.-based employer with at least 50 employees is eligible to apply for the Best Employers award. Candidates are vetted to ensure that practices meet the needs of mature workers. Key areas of consideration include: recruiting practices, opportunities for training, education and career development; workplace accommodations; alternative work options, such as flexible scheduling, job sharing, and phased retirement; employee health and retirement benefits and retiree work opportunities.

AARP The Magazine will feature the 2009 Best Employers in its November-December issue, available in homes September 24. The article will be found online then at www.aarpmagazine.org.

For more information on the 2009 Best Employers, please go to www.aarp.org/bestemployers. Included is background on each employer’s workforce practices and a description of the selection process.