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Background
Age discrimination occurs when an employee is discriminated against on grounds of age. In theory, the term can refer to any age group, however, the group that is most commonly discriminated because of their age is that aged 40 years and above. Employee age groups are divided into three:
- The youth;
- Those aged 40 years or more; and
- The elderly.
Many organizations simply refuse to hire persons who have passed a certain age despite the growing lifespans of the general population (Doyle, 2011).
Some employees practice age discrimination as they believe that younger people are more energetic and give the organization a positive image and that older employees lack the experience required to meet job expectations, other real concerns like laws that give older workers higher pay or other benefits also come into play.
Besides, it is common knowledge that younger employees cost the company less with regards to salaries, insurance costs, and pension benefits. Although it is illegal to discriminate a person at the workplace because of age, the practice is not so easy to identify, and preventing it is even harder (Devine, 2011).
Legal Implications
It is illegal to discriminate a worker simply because of his/her age: the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is a regulation that protects persons aged 40 years or more from discrimination because of age (HR Hero, 2011). An employee who is discriminated against may file his case under the ADEA legislation (EEOC, N.d).
Another legislation, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA) particularly forbids organizations from denying benefits to workers aged 40 years and above, including retirement benefits.
While an older worker is also protected by other workplace legislations, the ADEA and OWBPA are the main laws that protect workers against age discrimination (Workplace Fairness, 2011). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces both of these legislations.
Forms of Age Discrimination
The ADEA legislation states that no organization can take action against a worker for questioning organizational practices that seem to tolerate age discrimination. Besides, a company may not include age preferences, restrictions, or requirements in job adverts. An exception occurs when the company can prove that age is important in carrying out of ones duties.
Most instances of age discrimination normally occur during recruitment procedures although others occur in form of unfair dismissals, promotions, job appraisals, training programs, and age-biased comments, among others (Directgov. 2011).
Preventing Age Discrimination
The first step to preventing age discrimination in a company is for the management to understand the meaning of age discrimination and its effects on the company. This demands the adoption of sound policies against this vice. The policy should be clear on how to report age discrimination, investigation, and the penalties.
The organization must take serious measures on all complaints. Besides, the organization must monitor the workplace routinely and to talk freely to workers in order to identify any potential problems not necessarily related to age discrimination.
Other effective ways of preventing age discrimination include appraisal of the companys culture, preventive training, amendment of recruitment procedures, cautiously prepared benefits and retirement guidelines, and an improved commitment to present a work environment that caters for all age groups (Epson, 2011). Training sessions and peer reinforcement can also help in preventing age discrimination.
References
Devine, J. (2011). Age Discrimination in the Workplace. Web.
Directgov. (2011). Age Discrimination. Web.
Doyle, A. (2011). Age Discrimination: How Old is Too Old? Web.
Epson. (2011). Avoid Age Discrimination in the Workplace. Web.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (N. d). Age Discrimination. Web.
HR Hero. (2011). Age Discrimination in the Workplace. Web.
Workplace Fairness. (2011). Age Discrimination. Web.
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