While recent college graduates sometimes struggle to find gainful employment in Florida and across the United States, they are not the only ones experiencing this hardship. In fact, the state and nation’s older workers are increasingly feeling as if their age is a barrier to finding employment, and research shows that they are unfortunately correct in their convictions. At Kaylor, Kaylor & Leto, P.C., we know that there are laws in place preventing employers from discriminating against you due to your being 40 or older, and we have helped many Florida victims of age discrimination seek appropriate recourse.
According to AARP, age discrimination has become such a pervasive problem in this country that jobseekers 35 and over assert that their age is the single biggest hurdle keeping them from finding work. Furthermore, two-thirds of Americans between 45 and 74 claim they have been victims of work-related age discrimination, highlighting just how widespread the issue has become.
While age discrimination can affect workers or prospective workers from both sexes, statistics show that you are more likely to experience it if you are female. Certain industries also tend to have higher rates of age discrimination than others, with the issue proving especially pervasive within the entertainment and technology industries.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 allows you certain protections with regard to age discrimination once you hit 40 years of age, provided you work for a company that maintains a staff of at least 20 people. If you are a victim of work-related age discrimination, you may have several options at your disposal, with one such option involving filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You can find out more about employment discrimination on our webpage.