Age discrimination is a common form of workplace discrimination that far too many people ignore. Federal laws protect those over the age of 40 from having their age count against them when they apply for a new job or have other decisions made about their professional futures.
Companies should not factor in a worker’s age when making crucial decisions about someone’s employment. Unfortunately, age discrimination continues to affect the economic opportunities of older adults despite the existing laws.
What are some of the forms that age discrimination takes in the modern workplace? Here are two:
1. A loss of opportunities
Maybe you work in sales, and you have noticed that your employer provides you with half as many new client leads every month as they do the younger members of your team. Perhaps you have repeatedly applied for promotions internally but the company keeps giving those opportunities to younger workers with fewer credentials.
When your employer no longer includes you on the biggest and most prestigious projects, when they don’t provide you with sales leads or when they deny you advancement opportunities while giving them to younger workers, you may have reason to suspect your age is a factor in those choices.
2. A hostile work environment
Have supervisors taken to making tactless jokes about your technological prowess, despite the fact that you use the same software as everyone else? Have coworkers intentionally excluded you from company networking opportunities, or do they make jokes that your expense?
Your team and supervisors should not treat you differently because of your age. If they do and the company does not address that misconduct, then you may have grounds for an age discrimination claim against your employer because they have failed to protect you as they should.
Speaking up about age discrimination can help you preserve your future career opportunities and change how your company treats mature workers.