What You Need To Know About Age Discrimination

Posted on: 20 February 2019

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Being discriminated against for any factor outside of your control is a horrible feeling. It is especially horrible when it happens in the workplace or when it keeps you from getting a job.

The important thing to understand, however, is that  age discrimination is highly illegal. Thus, if you feel it may have occurred to you, you should report it to the human resources department at your job, if applicable, as well as to an attorney. From there, you can take the proper actions to get the justice you deserve.

Before you do any of that, however, it is important to understand a few key things about age discrimination.

Age Discrimination Is Always Illegal

One common misconception that people have is that age discrimination can only happen or is only illegal when it happens during the hiring process.

And, while it certainly is illegal to refuse to hire someone because of age, age discrimination can take place at other times as well. For example, a person cannot not receive a promotion or raise due to age. Likewise, a person cannot be fired or laid off due to age.

Thus, if you feel that you have experienced age discrimination at any stage of your employment or as a reason to not provide employment, it is worth reporting. When it happens does not matter. The only thing that matters is that it happened in the first place.

Harassment Counts as Discrimination

Something else that people often do not realize about discrimination is that it can sometimes take the form of harassment.

If someone makes fun of you at work, such as calling you "old man" or even just joking about your age, this is harassment. The same also holds true if someone encourages you to quit or to retire early due to your age.

If you feel like you are purposefully or even inadvertently being made uncomfortable in the workplace and it's related to your age, you can count your treatment as potential discrimination.

Asking Your Age Is Not Illegal

Sometimes, people will visit lawyers simply because an employer or prospective employer has asked to know the person's age.

Unfortunately, however, asking for someone's age or graduation date is not illegal, though some organizations are working to make it so in the coming years.

Thus, bear in mind that a mere question of how old you are is not considered discrimination, at least not yet, and there's not a lot you can do about it unless other things that do constitute discrimination occur.

Sadly, age discrimination does sometimes occur, in a variety of ways, in the workplace, or in the pursuit of employment. If this unfair treatment happens to you, don't just sit back and take it. Report it immediately and seek out age discrimination law services.