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What is age discrimination?

On Behalf of | Mar 18, 2021 | workplace discrimination |

Some Pennsylvania employees find themselves discriminated against at their place of work. While there are many different types of discrimination that are highly discussed, like sexual harassment, one that tends to be under-discussed is age discrimination. It’s been recorded that one in every five Americans over the age of 40 experience age discrimination.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

Known as ADEA for short, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was enacted to prohibit employers from being bias against employees and applicants over the age of 40 years old. Those over 40 are noted to experience discrimination in regards to promotions, compensation, employment benefits, firing and hiring.

What do the statistics show?

To help better understand how the older population is experiencing age discrimination in the workplace, AARP did a study of 1,000 participants. All of these workers were over the age of 40 years old at the time of the study. Those over the age of 60 reported the highest rate of age discrimination in the workplace.

Some of the age discrimination that was reported by these workers included jokes about their age. Out of all business sizes, small businesses with between 10 and 99 employees had the highest rate of discrimination based on an employee’s age. When asked about whether their age is an obstacle to getting a new job, a quarter of those between the age of 40 and 44 reported it would be an obstacle. A whopping 70% of those who were over the age of 60 reported that their age would be an obstacle in getting hired.

There are many different forms of workplace discrimination that Americans experience. Age discrimination is becoming a growing problem for many over the age of 40 looking for equality. If you’ve experienced age discrimination at your place of employment, it’s advisable to enlist the help of a lawyer to help with your case.