Age discrimination sadly continues to be quite common in American companies, particularly for older workers. This type of discrimination can manifest in various forms, making it more challenging to identify.
These are some subtle signs of age discrimination to watch out for and the rights you have if you are facing them:
1. You’re facing pressure to retire early
If you are nearing retirement age and your employer continues to offer early retirement packages, making your workload unbearable or gradually eliminating your responsibilities, this may be a red flag that they are trying to push you out.
You have the right to refuse their pressure to retire, as your employer cannot determine when you end your career.
2.Your employer keeps promoting younger, less experienced workers
If your employer keeps passing you over for someone with less experience or qualifications for a promotion, this could be a sign of age discrimination. While it can be challenging to determine if a promotion decision was discriminatory, if employers use age-coded language, or if you notice a common age trend in the other employees getting promotions, those are a few hints to listen to and watch for.
Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), employers with 20 or more employees are prohibited from practicing age discrimination in promotions. They also cannot retaliate against you for speaking to someone about discrimination in promotions.
3.Your employer and coworkers keep excluding you from meetings or social events
Being excluded from important workplace meetings, parties or happy hours, these actions could be indicative of ageism. These actions can often look like:
- Your manager taking you off of meetings with key clients or business stakeholders.
- Colleagues not inviting out for drinks or other workplace events.
- Hearing your colleagues make jokes about your age.
- No longer receiving important company information that younger or older employees do.
- Coworkers or supervisors no longer include you in key workplace committee meetings you were once regularly a part of.
You have the right to work somewhere you feel included and respected, and these subtle acts of age discrimination may constitute a hostile work environment.
4.Your employer keeps barring you from workplace training and development opportunities
Training and development are essential for you to upskill and advance in your career. Notice that these opportunities are not equally available to you but are consistently going to workers who are younger than you. This can be another potential indicator of age discrimination.
While employers generally aren’t legally required to provide you with additional training, if you believe they are denying these opportunities due to your age, you have the right to pursue a discrimination claim.
You deserve fair treatment
If you believe you’re facing age discrimination in your workplace, you can address the issue with your manager or your human resources department. If they ignore your concerns even after you provide clear, factual and consistent evidence, you can work with an experienced and tenacious employment law attorney to seek justice and hold your employer accountable.