Age Discrimination in Employment Act Essay

The come along Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees, or job offerdidates, on the basis of years. This law covers workers who are 40 years of mature and elder. An employer must have at least 20 workers to be covered by this law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act considers it unlawful for an employer to make usance-related decisions based on an employees or a prospective employees age. Here are several ways in which workers age 40 and preceding(prenominal) are covered An employer drive outt make hiring decisions based on an applicators age and he or she arouset severalize based on age when recruiting job candidates, advertising for a job or testing applicants. An employer cant fire a worker because of his age.An employer cant use age to classify, segregate or limit an employee if this will negatively affect the employees status or deprive him or her of opportunities. An employer cant use age to determine an employees pay. An employer cant deny benefits to an employee because of the employees age. In some circumstances, however, the employer may provide reduced benefits to older workers if the make up of providing those reduced benefits matches the damage of providing benefits to a younger worker. In new(prenominal) words, the cost of providing the benefits to older workers and younger workers must be the same. An employee may take age into account when making an employment-related decision only if it is in regard to an authentic qualification necessary for the businesss operation.Age discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) less favorably because of his age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It do es not protect workers under(a) the age of 40, although some states do have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination. It is not illegal for an employer or other covered entity to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older.Discrimination can carry on when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are both over 40.Age Discrimination & Work SituationsThe law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, kick benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.Age Discrimination & HarassmentIt is unlawful to harass a person because of his or her age. Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a persons age. Although the law doesnt prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that arent very serious, worrying is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hos tile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victims supervisor, a supervisor in other area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.Age Discrimination & Employment Policies/PracticesAn employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of age, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on applicants or employees age 40 or older and is not based on a reasonable factor other than age (RFOA). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEAs protections apply to both employees and job applicants. Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to withdraw against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compen sation, benefits, job assignments, and training.The ADEA permits employers to favor older workers based on age even when doing so adversely affects a younger worker who is 40 or older. It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing an age discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under the ADEA. The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. ADEA protections includeApprenticeship ProgramsIt is generally unlawful for apprenticeship programs, including joint labor-management apprenticeship programs, to discriminate on the basis of an individuals age. Age limitations in apprenticeship programs are valid only if they fall within certain specific exceptions under the ADEA or if the EEOC grants a specific exemption.Job Notices and AdvertisementsThe ADEA generally makes it unlawful to include age preferences, limitations, or specifications in job notices or advertisements. A job notice or advertisement may specify an age limit only in the rare circumstances where age is shown to be a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) sanely necessary to the normal operation of the business.Pre-Employment InquiriesThe ADEA does not specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicants age or date of birth. However, because such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age, requests for age information will be closely scrutinized to make sure that the inquiry was made for a lawful purpose, rather than for a purpose prohibited by the ADEA. If the information is needed for a lawful purpose, it can be obtained after the employee is hired.BenefitsThe Older Workers Benefit Protection Ac t of 1990 (OWBPA) amended the ADEA to specifically prohibit employers from denying benefits to older employees. Congress recognized that the cost of providing certain benefits to older workers is greater than the cost of providing those same benefits to younger workers, and that those greater costs might create a disincentive to hire older workers. Therefore, in limited circumstances, an employer may be permitted to reduce benefits based on age, as long as the cost of providing the reduced benefits to older workers is no less than the cost of providing benefits to younger workers. Employers are permitted to coordinate retiree health benefit plans with eligibility for Medicare or a comparable state-sponsored health benefit.Waivers of ADEA RightsAn employer may ask an employee to waive his/her rights or claims under the ADEA. Such waivers are common in settling ADEA discrimination claims or in connection with exit incentive or other employment ending programs. However, the ADEA, as a mended by OWBPA, sets out specific stripped-down standards that must be met in order for a waiver to be considered knowing and unpaid and, therefore, valid. Among other requirements, a valid ADEA waiver must obe in authorship and be understandableospecifically refer to ADEA rights or claimsonot waive rights or claims that may reverse in the futureobe in exchange for valuable consideration in addition to anything of value to which the individual already is entitled oadvise the individual in writing to consult an attorney before signing the waiver and oprovide the individual at least 21 days to consider the agreement and at least sevensome days to revoke the agreement after signing it. If an employer requests an ADEA waiver in connection with an exit incentive or other employment termination program, the minimum requirements for a valid waiver are more extensive. See Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements at http//www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/ qanda_severance-agreements.html