Age discrimination in California workplaces

The Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967 is supposed to protect older employees from discrimination from their employer, but the reality is that this type of discrimination is a growing issue. According to a survey done by the AARP in 2013, two-thirds of those who were surveyed and were between the ages of 45 and 74 said that they had seen discrimination or been discriminated against due to their age.

The reason that it is believed that age discrimination is going to be an increasing issue is because there is a large number of millennials looking to enter the workforce, but baby boomers aren’t leaving it to make room. Older individuals are increasingly remaining in the labor force because they are unable to live off of their savings without having to work.

Younger individuals are generally less expensive to employ than older people who have more experience and tend to have higher wage demands. It is also assumed that people who are older are less able to work, even though studies have demonstrated that higher age does not correlate to lower productivity. The supposition that ageism is getting worse is backed up by the fact that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received nearly 3,000 more complaints of ageism in 2014 than it did 10 years ago.

There are a variety of protections that employees have against discrimination on the job, and it is illegal for employers to treat individuals differently for things like their age, gender or religious affiliation. People who feel that they have been the target of prohibited workplace discrimination may want to discuss their options with an employment law attorney.

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