Christina Jones
Age Discrimination in the Workplace
Human Resource Management
Dr. Melissa Mann Introduction
With the rise of the fastest age group expected to be between the age of workers 55 and older from 2012-2022, Age Discrimination will likely be on the rise. According to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), for the fiscal year of 2015, there were 15,719 receipts that filed an Age Discrimination complaint under the Employment Act which was 20.2% of the total charges filed, with monetary benefits in $99.1 Million. Among the claims that were filed in 2015, almost 66% of the claims were thrown out because of no reasonable cause and 17% were resolved with Administrative Closures. Even though the protection for older workers is in place, stereotypes associated to age will continue. Perhaps the most notable change is the significant increase in the proportion of the labor force who are 55 years and over, increasing from 11.9% of the total labor force in 1990 to 19.5% in 2010 to an expected 25.2% in 2020 (Toossi, 2012). With continue increase of discrimination against older workers, it is perilous to employers that discrimination be limited to the workplace as much as possible.
This paper will define Age Discrimination, provided a historical perspective regarding age discrimination as well as delineate current legislation and protection for aging employees.
Literature Review
Definition, Historical Perspectives, and Legislative Initiatives
Age
Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. In the workforce, the issue of racism and discrimination has been brought to the center of conversations around the world. Companies claim to be “colorblind” and not hire somebody based on their race or gender, but the employment rates among minorities and women around the world is significantly lower than the majority in the given country. There is also the growing issue of minorities, such as blacks in america, making significantly less money than whites. This issue affects people all around the world who happen
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.
“POW” Back In The Civil Rights Law”, Rita C. Tobin discusses the age discrimination case against Jack Gross, a successful claims administrator director, and how he was demoted to a lower position. Gross knew this demotion was due to his age, and he decided to sue the agency, but in turn lost. Gross’ case did open doors for other individuals that are fired or demoted due to ageism, and hopefully people are considered for a position due to their work ethic and work skills, not their
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
Employers in today’s job force should take heed and make all possible efforts to avoid any type of discrimination in their company, not just age discrimination. Risk management teams should be put in place in the human resource departments and should work closely with the executive managers to create an environment that does not promote or tolerate discrimination of any kind. This would not only improve the culture of the company but would reduce the unnecessary risk of discrimination lawsuits. In conclusion, not only is discrimination degrading and hurtful, but for an organization it is illegal, costly, and disrespectful. The Supreme Court recognized the discrimination and that it was inexcusable no matter the “after-acquired evidence” against the plaintiff and ruled in accordance of this in the McKennon vs Nashville Banner Publishing Co
discrimination when passed over for jobs as a result of lack of experience, however, under the ADEA, they
Age discrimination has long been present in society due to the rapid development happening around us. According to Farney, Aday & Breault (2006), this era of ageism is defined as "discrimination against any age group", but it often is pointed to age discrimination among adults which is slowly causing a negative effect for them in the workplace. In the workplace, adults with more experience and longer history behind them are targets of this ageism belief that companies and employers tend to have (Farney, Aday, & Breault, 2006). They are shunned and even fired in favor of accepting new and fresh faces for the company they have worked for. Unknown to most companies and employers, this notion of favoring the young and banishing the old can
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
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
The Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) was passed over 40 years ago (in 1967) prohibiting the denial of employment, forced retirement, hours of employment, compensation, or termination of individuals due to the person's age, and it was meant to encourage the employment of older individuals based on their abilities and invaluable experience. However, age discrimination and ageism still permeate American society and the workplace.”(Tate)
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.
Age discrimination is an issue today, more than ever especially when companies seek to avoid having to pay retirement or medical benefits and do so by firing older employees who might be about to invest in their pension or who might need medical attention. Another reason is that older employees may be paid more than new hires, so companies replace older workers with new workers just for that reason. This type of change is in addition to those who are simply biased against older workers and who take any opportunity to remove older works and bring in new blood
Age discrimination cases had a rise in both the size of the payouts and the amount of claims accepted by employment tribunals in the past year. According to the Office of Research, there were 22,857 claims of age discrimination in 2012 which is an increase of 7,000 in the past ten years. The Department of Civil Rights also recognized there was a 77 percent rise in age discrimination claims in the past three years. This is a problem that has reached an all time high and as the employees age, issues surrounding discrimination based on age become more significant for more