Is discussing ages in a dept. meeting legal?

[carpaltunnel]

This week our new department head, with great fanfare, held a department meeting and announced a total reorganization of the whole department, including new reporting relationships, job descriptions and titles, and increased planning activities. Enough right there to get stressed about without the next thing. One of the plans he announced is ramped up cross training and contingency for retirements and deaths due to the number of people in the department in their 50's and 60's He didn't name names, but he listed how many people were in each category, and used one of us as an example: If Sally retired or got hit by a bus...etc.

I think the younger people were as offended as the older people. I've heard comment from them about how stupid it was. Does anyone know if this is illegal?

Then to make things worse, HIS boss apologized profusely to someone who got upset, thinking it was the age comment that made her upset, although it was really something else stupid that they did (I won't even go into that here.) So several executives one after another apologized to her about the age comments, and have said nothing at all to the rest of us.

Boy am I glad it's Friday. I don't think I could make myself go back another day.