Senior Citizens: Employees Under a Negative Light

The problem of discrimination against the elderly, or senior citizens is a broad social problem that needs to be better analyzed and worked on. Discrimination against the elderly is typically based on trends that are set up by the younger generation, and ultimately, puts the aging group under a negative light. As a result of discrimination, the elderly may be denied access to health care, voting, employment, education, etc. based on their aging. Discrimination in a workplace is not acceptable when employers rely on elderly age stereotypes to deny hiring them. Mandatory requirement is presented as a way to make employment available for the young, which is often seen as discrimination. The reason that is often put out is that work is scarce and that retirement will sooner or later free up work positions. Some elderly may be very happy with their mandatory retirement, and see it as a way of freeing themselves from a never-ending life of work, and the benefits of mandatory pensions. Though retirement, is also sometimes linked to a feeling of uselessness and loss of control among the ageing population.


The Age Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate when hiring workers based on age. This act covers the aging from from 40 to 70. As an employer, you cannot refuse to hire someone based on age, or indicate a preference, limitation or discrimination based on age. For an older applicant, or employee, it is almost impossible to prove age discrimination. If you decide to file a complaint against discrimination, you must be sure to document everything (how many older employees there are, was age mentioned in the interview or hiring process, was younger person hired, was that person qualified for the job). To file a complaint against age discrimination, The Equal Employee Opportunities, or EEOC should be contacted, which will help guide you through the process.


Employers not hiring based on age discrimination is not listed in the Constitution/Bill of Rights, but there are Federal laws against age discrimination, such as the Age Discrimination Act explained above. Under this law, age discrimination is only allowed if the employer can prove that age is an essential component in the job. This might apply to a situation where teenage clothing companies would only want to hire teens to model their clothes. What you may want to do as a senior applying for a job is to address the age issue up front. Show your interest in the job by providing accurate information that older workers are just as productive as younger workers, will require less training and supervision, are likely to stay in the job longer, and are technologically up to date. 


Reference:
http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/tag/adea/
http://www.cardi.ie/userfiles/Human%20Rights%20of%20the%20Elderly.pdf