What Are Your Rights Regarding Age Discrimination?
Age discrimination within a workplace is defined as treating an applicant or an employee less favorably because of his or her age. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is the primary federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees who are at least 40 years old. The ADEA protects employees from any type of age discrimination in any aspects of employment such as, hiring, firing, promotion, wage, benefits, tasks, discipline, training, etc. The ADEA also makes it unlawful to include age preferences, limitations or specifications in notices or advertisements. The ADEA applies to federal and local governments and all private employers with 20 or more employees.
Laws do not specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicant’s age or date of birth upon hiring him or her. However, requests for one’s age information will be looked at closely by the ADEA because they may be for an unlawful purpose. Such inquiries may defer older workers from applying for that job or there may be a intent to discriminate based on one’s age.
Similarly to the ADEA, the federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) also protects employees who are at least 40 years old. The OWBPA prohibits age discrimination in the provision of fringe benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, pensions, and retirement benefits. This act ensures that employers provide equal benefits to older and younger workers.
The ADEA allows an employee or job applicant who believes that he or she has experienced age discrimination to file a charge against an employer, an agency, or a union. An employee who wishes to file a charge must do so within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory action or when the employee became aware of it, whichever occurred first. Age discrimination is a serious problem within one’s work place and each worker should know his or her rights.
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