Age Discrimination In Employment Act Of 1967 (ADEA)

According to The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.), “The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on their age and it applies to both job applicants and employees. With regards to condition, any term or privilege of employment, it is against the law under the ADEA to discriminate against a person because of his/her age which includes layoff promotion, compensation, hiring, firing, training, job assignments and benefits. It is also unlawful for an employer to discriminate against anyone for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing as age discrimination charge, testifying or participating in an in an investigation proceeding or litigation under the ADEA” (para.1).

First, Age discrimination is a very common reason why some people are not employed. However, there are laws in place that prohibits this kind of discrimination. Miller gave an explanation on the about age discrimination act (ADEA) of 1967, it prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of age against individuals forty years of age or older (Miller,2013).

Before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the only substantive protection from discrimination for United States citizens was the 14th Amendment, which states, “equal protection of the laws.” Seminal cases under this law include, Brown v. Board of Education, and more recently, Bush v. Gore (Cornell University Law School, 2016). Despite the 14th Amendment, discrimination based on race, sex, and age went uncontested as it was often difficult to prove and no specific protections existed. Hence, as part of the Civil Rights Act, the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) allowed federal law to establish protected classes (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2016). As a person who falls under the protected class of age, this paper focuses on age discrimination and the potential ethical issues for employers involving this protected class. While most employers respect and follow employment laws, age discrimination is more common than many realize and can be devastating for the individual and financially problematic for the employer.

Age discrimination in the workforce is a major issue in Today’s society. Although this is hardly ever mentioned, it is a concern that affects the aging population and their work performance. Those who are of old age are often not given a chance and looked down on. They are thought of as being mentally and physically in decline, less adaptable, unwilling to be trained, and costly to the organization. The elderly are considered “slow workers.” They are often forced to work extra hard to prove to their employer, they are capable of working as effective as the young. Defining someone’s work performance according to their age is against the law. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) addresses discrimination against the older population. This Act was passed by congress to ensure people of age 40 and older are given fair judgment in the workforce; however, the maturing population of baby boomers has led to an increasing number of elderly workers. This has cause age discrimination to rise. It is important that we review and analyze age discrimination has a political issues that must be changed. Although ADEA sets out to help the aging population, changes should be made within the employer. In order to seek change, one must first understand ADEA and how it promotes fair treatment for the elderly.

As described on Facts About Age Discrimination (2008), the ADEA provides protection against age discrimination for both applicants and employees during the hiring and employment termination process. For employees the ADEA protects against age being a factor in opportunities for promotion, assignment of benefits and selection for layoffs. With few exceptions the ADEA prohibits employers from including age as a criterion when advertising or posting notice for available jobs. The ADEA explicitly protects “whistleblowers” against retaliation as a result of filing an age discrimination

The American population is aging as health care improves, the older generation is living longer and are still working or just getting into the workplace. One of the biggest issues that these older individuals face is age discrimination within the workplace. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 forbids employment discrimination on the basis of age. Through a detailed explanation and history of the law, this paper will examine how ADEA affects the professionals in the workplace, human resources, managers, and employers in the workplace. It will further examine how the employee is affected by ADEA. This includes what their rights are and how they can make a complaint. Lastly, a legal case will be examined and evaluated so

While it may seem fair to enforce laws against age discrimination against workers over the age of forty,

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was established to provide fairness in the workplace for citizens over the age of 40. This law was intended to guard against employers using unscrupulous hiring practices and unfairly firing individuals without legitimate reasons. The Civil Rights Act was updated to fight discrimination based on sex, race, and religion, but never addressed the issue of age. Age related concerns arose during the 1960’s when the economy began to change rapidly in technology and scope. Many experienced professionals were being displaced or simply discriminated against, because it was believed that it was cheaper to hire and train inexperienced employees, or because it would save on pension expense that was due to personnel approaching retirement age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 provides security for older employees that have the competency to do work but are held in prejudice, because they are advancing in years.

Historically, the United States in 1938 enforced a Fair Labor Standard Acts that prohibits employers to pay women less doing the same job in the same organization with male counterparts. In 1963, the law was amended to Equal Pay Act. It addresses pay rate inequality by some employers. Due to age discrimination, the 1967 Age discrimination Act addresses discrimination against those 40 or older. Fascinating fact that the ADEA, 1986 amended prevents upper age limit and banned early retirement (Carden, 2014, p. 58). Also, OWBPA Act of 1990, allow older workers benefit financially to retire (Carden, 2014, p. 50). Another historic law governing discrimination is the American with Disability Act (ADA) created in 1990. It was interesting such law applies

Discrimination against older workers is one of the forbidden grounds of discrimination in the labour market across Canada. Age discrimination affects an older adult’s career, advancements, opportunities, and privileges in the labour market. Furthermore, older adults tend to be marginalized, institutionalized, and stripped of responsibility, power, and their dignity (Nelson 208). The Canadian population is aging rapidly and that changes in the population age structure have led to considerable discussion of ageism and social policies like mandatory retirement and old age security. Employers continue to have negative attitudes and stigma toward older workers (Klassen and Gillin 36). Social policy like mandatory retirement is the leading form

* The immediate supervisor told David that “Jason is going to places in this Company”.

Age discrimination in employment is a complex issue which impacts many areas of Government policy and has many implications for individuals themselves. Age discrimination can occur across all spectrums of employment and can affect both young and old. Age discrimination can affect a person’s chances of getting a job, and potentially their chances of promotion or development within the workplace. Age can also be a factor when employers are deciding who should be selected during a workforce downsize or redundancy of work due to a mergers and acquisitions.

There has always been some “ism” that social movements have fought against throughout America’s history, and the issue of “ageism” was finally addressed in The Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Ageism can be defined as prejudiced beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors pertaining to older adults. To understand the ADEA fully, a brief history of age discrimination is useful to comprehend the Structural Level of this bill. Discrimination based on age was not a large issue until the beginning of the 20th century, mainly because it was a tacit form of discrimination. For the most part, people worked until they were at an age where they did not feel useful, and for the rest of their lives their families would take care of them. Industrialization

Age discrimination has some special aspects that make it different from other types of employment discrimination. My research will discuss this more in detail. Included will be several court decisions of great importance, the history of the Age Discrimination Statute, and other important data in regards to Age discrimination. Also there is information included on how to file a complaint with the

To critically and comprehensively address this case, it is convincingly important to assess the laws that forbids age discrimination and wrongful termination in workplace. Under the law, age discrimination can involve treating an employee or applicant less favorably because of her or his age. In accordance to the “Age Discrimination in Employment Act, it is unlawful to discriminate an employee on basis their age. The law is categorically clear that an employer not discriminate individuals who are 40 years old and above (Walsh, 2013). It should be noted that the Act provide for protection for the people/workers below 40 years. However, some states in the United States have laws in place that protect young employees against age discrimination. It is unlawful or illegal for employers or any other entity to consider hiring/favoring an older worker over the younger one. This withstands even if both employees are 40 and above. The law strongly prohibits age discrimination in any aspect of employment including firing, hiring, pay, promotions, job assignments, trainings, layoffs, benefits, and any other condition or term of employment.