The longer you have been with a company or worked in a particular profession, the more experience and expertise you have. Workers with decades of knowledge in their field have a lot to offer the companies that employ them.
Unfortunately, some businesses don’t value experience as much as they should. They discriminate against older workers even though federal law protects employees over the age of 40 from discrimination based on their age. What are some of the ways that companies discriminate against older employees?
Workers past a certain age may never get promoted
Have you noticed that only younger, newer workers that seem to move up the ranks at the company? If everyone getting promoted is much younger than you and arguably less qualified than you and other older workers, that could be a sign of discriminatory employment practices. The company should be making promotion decisions based on performance and ability — not just the age of the worker.
The company might reduce benefits to inconvenience older workers
When companies renegotiate health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits, they might make changes to what they offer. In some cases, those changes clearly protect younger workers or cause disadvantages for older workers. Workers who need good health coverage may no longer be able to stay at the same job if they can’t get insurance coverage for necessary care, for example.
The company might fire older workers, possibly under the guise of downsizing
Companies restructure and let go of some of their staff all the time. When they do so, they cannot discriminate against workers from certain protected categories. Workers over the age of 40 might find that they and all of their age-peer co-workers get laid off, only to have the company hire a fresh crop of college graduates at half of what those older workers previously earned.
If your company refuses to promote you, tries to push you out or fires you because of your age, you may need to take legal action to stand up for yourself and other employees facing such unfair, discriminatory treatment.
