Age Discrimination In Employment Act Of 1967

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.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act governs discrimination in the work place for people age forty and older. “Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training” (EEOC, 2008). Because of companies wanting employees that were going to have longevity from their starting point, or wanting to move the younger people up the corporate ladder, something had to be done to protect the rights of the older generation.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) protects against age discrimination under Title VII. Specifically, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which was passed in 1967 by congress, covers discrimination against employees who are 40 or more years old. This topic should be a big concern for employers, since the number of elderly workers is increasing as the baby boomer population matures. It is estimated that as many as twenty-percent of the claims filed with the EEOC are for age discrimination. Also, age discrimination settlements can be considerably higher than typical discrimination cases. Upon research, the average award amount between 1955 and 1988 was $219,000.

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

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

Opportunity Commission(EEOC) laws that protects older workers (forty years older or older) from age discrimination and unfair treatments during their employments. Older workers sometime find themselves in a disadvantaged position on hiring, promoting, rewarding and appraising comparing younger employees. The ADEA is here to make sure that older employees have the equal rights and treatments as younger workers.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 act “protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment”. Even though the act was established in 1967 the act has weakened. The reason it was weakened is because The U.S Supreme Court found it difficult to prove age discrimination says advocates. According to AARP, “about 64 percent say they have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace.”

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

In conclusion, ageism in today’s times is a real form of discrimination and needs to be fixed. An individual’s skills and capabilities should be based on a personal level, not their age. The elderly and the young need just as much job opportunities as the middle-aged individuals living in the

The ADEA is administered by the EEOC, and similar in most respects to the Civil Rights Act. Both disparate treatment and disparate impact charges are possible. The Act protects workers 40 years of age and older. A 45-year-old who applies for a job and is rejected in favor of a younger worker can claim disparate treatment. The employer will then have to show that the younger worker was better qualified or provide some nondiscriminatory reason for its decision. An employer could argue that it paid a newly hired younger worker more than an older current employee because this was necessary to attract the younger worker to the job. In disparate impact cases, employees must show that the entire protected group (workers 40 and older) is affected by the employer’s practice and not just some part of the protected group (workers over 60, for example) (Player, 14).

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)

Concern by policymakers over these types of incidents prompted Congress to enact the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1968, which outlawed discrimination in the workplace against workers between the ages of 40 and 65. Later amendments prohibited mandatory retirement before the age of 70 in 1978 (and then outlawed mandatory retirement altogether with a few exceptions) in 1986. During 1990, 10,485 complaints of age discrimination were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” 1 (Johnson and Neumark, pg. 779 , 1996 )

Age discrimination is mainly toward the older (60 +) and younger (14-17) people in their early teens. Many Americans have been fired, forced into retirement, or turned down from a job due to their age. Older age employers are discriminated against in the workplace because of appearance and their ability to do the work required is believed to slow. Employers are more likely to hire a person who is much younger and more attractive than an elderly person. Also, employers want to employ people who are able to do the work required. This is another way in which older people are discriminated against even though they may be very capable to do the job. “The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in programs and activities