Age discrimination is a major problem many job seekers are facing nowadays during their job search. It is a common challenge that has affected many countries across the world. Although there are some countries that have made some strides in eliminating this type of vice during the process of employment, a lot still remains to be done.
In this article, the focus is on different cases in which age is the major factor in employment discrimination. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act requires that every employer should be included in every year calendar of events so as to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to combat the rising cases of age discrimination in the employment sector.
Feder (2010) states that discrimination in terms of age begins as early as between thirty five to forty years, and by the time an individual attains the age of forty, he or she may not easily get into the job market due to low productivity, as believed by many.
Most jobseekers aged forty five and above are more prone to miss out their chance for employment for a relatively longer period of time compared to younger generation (Doyle, 2012). According to the provisions outlined and put forward in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, all employees who are aged forty and above are entitled to work and earn all the benefits accrued in employment.
For instance, all workers are entitled to payment, training, promotions and any other benefits. However, discrimination mostly occurs in cases whereby both parties are in the same age category although one party is duly subjected to harassment by an official, who is ranked higher.
Clients have also been noted to be major sources of harassment at workplace. In case of such occurrences, the law is supposed to intervene when the harassment is severe to such an extent that it creates a hostile working environment in which an employee is demoted or fired (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2008).
It is unlawful for an employer to fail to hire an individual because of his or her age. Moreover, deducting from an employee’s pay and refusing to offer the legal benefits such as compensations in regards to an employee’s age, is prohibited. Discrimination of employees by employers often leads to serious harassment cases.
For instance, some workers may lose their jobs, which should be prohibited at workplaces at large. The Employment Act strongly demands the job security of the aged people in regards to their ability rather than their respective age brackets (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2008).
Finally, recommendations have been made by the Ministry of Labor that a research program is going to be conducted to identify the needs of workers and also identify their potentials in employment in order to improve the economy. This study aims at creating awareness and ending up with the restrictions in employing older people, and fostering their skills toward improved performance.
The latter is targeted at the employment bodies like the public employment service, labor organizations and other private agencies. In addition to the research, notices shall be posted to every employment body in order to improve the efficiency of the set rules and regulations in order to increase efficiency. Failure to observe the rules may result into serious penalties depending on the existing laws and regulations.
References
Doyle, A. (2012). Discrimination Age: How Old is Too Old?. Web.
Feder, J. (2010). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA): A Legal Overview. Web.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2008). Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Web.