Age Discrimination Employee Act
With age should come wisdom and happiness, not discrimination. However for some people in the United States, age is more than a number in the workplace, but the cause of ridicule, prejudice or injustice. According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, it's unlawful for companies to discriminate against a person because of age.
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Significance
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According to the Age Discrimination Act of 1967, employers or prospective employers can't discriminate against you because you're older than 40 years old. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it's unlawful for perspective employers or apprenticeship programs to set age limits when advertising for job notices or apprenticeships unless age is shown to be a bona fide occupational qualification, or BFOQ.
Types
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Employers such as business in the private sector, local, state and federal agencies can't refuse an older worker pay employment, pay increases, training, promotions or benefits just because of age. Also, temporary employment agencies cannot decline to send workers to job assignments because of age. Unions can't exclude or limit membership because of age.
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Harassment
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The Act protects against harassment in which an older worker receives repeated, offensive remarks about her age. This harassment becomes illegal when it's so recurrent that it creates a hostile workplace for the older worker or causes employment termination or demotion. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the harasser can be a supervisor, co-worker or business' client or customer.
Prevention/Solution
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A person who feels discriminated against by an employer or prospective employer can write a letter to or visit his local EEOC office. You must file a charge within a 180 calendar days of the date the alleged discrimination occurs. Filing a discrimination charge includes providing include personal information such as name, telephone number and address, employers' information, a short description of the discrimination and why it occurred. Your signature must be included before the EEOC can process your claim.
Considerations
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The Age Discrimination in Employment Act doesn't protect employees under 40 years old or employees at companies with less than 20 employees. The Act doesn't include protection against isolated incidents, offhanded remarks or teasing about age. However, it's not illegal for employers to favor older employees over younger workers. According to the EEOC, in 2009 there were 22,778 age discrimination charges filed with the agency with 20,529 of the charges resolved. The charges were resolved in a variety of ways such as monetary benefits and settlements. The law only covers employers with 15 or more employees. As of 2010, the EEOC doesn't allow anyone to file charges over the Internet or telephone.
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References
Resources
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