Employee Age Discrimination

Imagine not achieving the financial status needed to retire, or the possibility of a hardship in life that requires working beyond the standard age of retirement. Then again, maybe a person takes pride in his or her work and has a sense of self-fulfillment, but he or she is being squeezed out of the work place to bring in a younger generation. Who or what is going to ensure that the older workforces are protected? Are employers required to keep employees if they deem them to old for the job, or, better yet, what are the employer's responsibilities? These are only a few of the points that will be discussed in regards to employing older people.

Age discrimination occurs for a variety of reasons. Companies may dismiss older workers because they are paid the highest salaries, or because the business wants to promote a "young" image with younger workers, or moreover, because employers think younger employees will work for less money and be more flexible.

Sonny Cornelius, official portrait from .

English: William H. Brown, chairman of EEOC

John H Powell Jr, chairman of EEOC

When it comes to these issues, older employees need some laws to protect them and give them equal rights in the workplace. Title VII was created to promote equal rights in the workplace, but it did not include the protection of the older generation. Some of the rights of protection as noted by The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in title VII are; "being discriminated against by an employer, labor union or employment agency when applying for a job or while on the job because of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or believe that you have been discriminated against because of opposing a prohibited practice or participating in an equal employment opportunity matter." (1997). Since Title VII did not offer protection for the older workforce, the The Age Discrimination in Employment Act...