Experiencing age discrimination at your workplace can be unsettling. In many cases, work discrimination comes as a part of the job, which should never be the case. Most people do not speak up against it because they fear being fired or demoted by the employer. Therefore, in fear of losing their livelihood, victims silently keep suffering.
However, they fail to realize that there are laws that can protect them. One of such laws is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects from ageism or age discrimination at work. If you believe you are being discriminated against, a Parsippany Employment Attorney can help you.
Signs of everyday ageism
- You hear negative remarks about your age.
In your workplace, watch out for negative remarks regarding your age or age group. Discriminatory comments may involve insensitive remarks about your retirement even though you do not plan on retiring anytime soon.
Jokes about older adults are quite common as well. Most of these remarks are passed off as jokes. However, you must know that there is a line between joking and being disrespectful. If you feel you are being disrespected, you should not let it slide as it can create a hostile work environment for you.
- Seeing a pattern of hiring only young employees.
Many employers in Parsippany give more importance to younger job candidates and favor them more during recruitment. They do not show it, and they may not include an age limit in their job ad too.
However, they will be specifically looking for applicants from younger people. This is often because of stereotypes related to older people, such as lesser ability to work, sociability, knowledge, etc. It is a major red flag if you see only young people being hired.
- Favoritism.
In a discriminatory workplace, the employee does not only hire younger people but treats them better than older workers as well. If the younger employee who is at a lower post than you has the latest equipment while you still use a decade-old device, it indicates unequal treatment from your employer. Another popular example of favoritism may be your boss excluding you from important meetings while allowing your juniors to attend them.
- Older employers are not promoted.
Not unlike the hiring process, who your employer promotes can also indicate age discrimination. You or your co-workers of a similar age group may have applied for a promotion, only to be turned down repeatedly.
On the other hand, younger employees keep rising to higher posts in the company every year. Older employers have more work experience. Therefore, if your employer chooses to promote people with lesser experience than you, then it is a clear sign of discrimination.
