The American workforce is aging. A significant number of baby boomers are choosing to remain employed rather than to retire at the same age that their parents did. There are a number of advantages to having an older workforce, including the significant experience that elderly employees bring to the table. However, not all businesses and managerial staff value their older employees in the ways that they should.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the number of age discrimination complaints being filed annually is rising significantly. In 2006, the EEOC received just over 16,500 age discrimination complaints. Six years later, the agency received nearly 23,000 such complaints of age discrimination in the workplace. In all, the number of age discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC has spiked by nearly 40 percent in the last six years alone.
According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), age discrimination essentially occurs whenever an employer treats an employee or applicant less favorably than a similarly qualified individual as a result of his or her age.
If you are being discriminated against in your workplace as a result of your age, you are obviously not alone. The media, the government and workers’ rights advocates are taking notice of this disturbing trend. If you have the courage to speak with an attorney and hold your employers accountable for their illegal treatment of you and any similarly situated co-workers, you can help to inspire a reversal of this trend while pursuing rightful compensation tied to the harm done to you.
Source: Law & Daily Life, “EEOC Age-Discrimination Claims Up 38% in 6 Years,” Aditi Mukherji, Dec. 9, 2013