What does age discrimination look like?

On Behalf of | Jun 14, 2021 | Employment Discrimination |

When working, the last thing you want to deal with is harassment or discrimination from your fellow employees or even your upper management. Unfortunately, discrimination still regularly occurs in the modern workplace.

You can end up harassed for everything from your creed to your race. In fact, you can even get harassed for being “too old”. But what exactly are the signs of age discrimination?

How does it manifest?

The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission examines age discrimination. This form of discrimination targets older employees, usually aged 40 and up. These employees may end up treated as second-class citizens due to a perceived “inability” to work as well or efficiently as younger workers.

In certain job fields, it also ties to discrimination over one’s looks. An employer may demote someone from a customer-facing position because they look “too old”, for example.

Age discrimination takes many different forms, though. For example, you could face exclusion from certain workplace bonding activities due to your age. Other employees may ridicule you, saying unpleasant or untrue things based on how old you are.

What are the work impacts?

You may get passed over for promotion despite having a better skill set simply due to the fact that your competition was younger. You may even experience a gap in pay due to age despite your level of experience and expertise.

The one unifying factor is that the behaviors or actions must make it hard or impossible for you to continue working. If you find yourself in such a situation, consider contacting legal help. They can help you determine what steps to take next.

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