One of the issues I am finding when rarely offered an interview is the human-resources department asking for my Social Security number to check my credit background. While I don't have any problem with my credit, I assume they also look at my age. Can this be construed as age discrimination, even if I have no way to swear in court they have taken a look at my birth date? Any suggestions as to how to confront this issue? Should I decline providing my SSN?
It doesn't seem a good strategy to spend a lot of time wondering and worrying about whether a company is looking for your age, if and when they ask for your social security number. You might assume that they look at your birth date if you give the number, but any good recruiter or human resources person will probably be able to guess your age within a few years anyway from your application/resume. We don't think you'd ever be able to make a case of age discrimination solely on this assertion that a company saw your age and then declined to offer you an interview/job.
You can, of course, decline to furnish the information if you want. There is no way a prospective employer can force you to pony up your social security number. If you make the choice to refuse supplying the information they request, you'd better be really good at selling yourself and convincing them to interview you anyway, since you may run the risk of alienating them and being perceived as a person who is overly paranoid about age.
We'd rather see you spend your time and energy on developing job leads through your network of contacts, and bypassing HR departments altogether. You'll get much further and probably find jobs that are better suited to your skills and abilities this way.