Age discrimination in the work

Today’s society is a world where younger means faster, smarter, more efficient, more productive, and less liability to a company. Modern society has used age discrimination towards older Americans in order to justify the sociological and economic needs of society as a whole. Although this practice is most commonly seen in white-collar professions, it is not limited to just the corporate world in and of itself. More Americans are living longer and healthier lives, and many are working longer or going back to work after retirement. A study conducted by the AARP found that eight in ten baby boomers are planning to work during their “retirement years”, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that between 1998 and 2008 the percentage of workers age 45 and older will increase by about 7 percent, adding nearly 17 million workers to this age group. Furthermore, workers age 55 to 64 are projected to increase by 10 million during this time. Combined with a slowing economy and dwindling pensions, workforce changes such as these could give rise to increasing incidents of age discrimination in employment. Age discrimination can be masked in many different ways and there are numerous reasons for practicin

American society is a modern, productive, fast-paced, technological workforce, which relies on socioeconomic means for competition in the national as well as international markets. A major part of any discrimination, or segregation, of an individual is to define specifically what "age discrimination" really means in legal terms. There were no such things as pagers, cell phones, e-mail, voice mail, and laptops to carry around. The United States government, for example, as well as the local authorities engages in this discrimination by placing a maximum age of thirty-five at the time of hire otherwise a person is ineligible. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) specifically prohibits: statements or specifications in job notices or advertisements of age preference and limitations. We must remind ourselves that before the 1978 and 1986 ADEA amendments to end mandatory retirement, companies were still allowed to remove an employee due to age regardless of "caps" being placed on specific sectors of the workforce. The other age discrimination is putting the "cap" or age limit on certain employment positions. If substituting a younger CEO for an older one, despite seniority and wisdom, affects public image towards the company in such a way to create business for the company, then money does talk in this society. According to Jennifer Kaplan, EEOC spokeswoman in Washington, "we have a lot of younger workers in management positions now who sometimes equate age with a sense of being outdated, who look at older workers who may or may not be up with technology and assume that their ideas are old, they want new blood. However, in today"tms rapidly expanding white-collar sector, the "new school" challenges this way of thinking and values have changed drastically. The ADEA (Code of Federal Regulations), Subpart A -Interpretations, Section 1625. In the company"tms eyes, it may possibly be more advantageous to substitute one older, well-paid worker for two, younger workers who can be paid less. However, beneath the seemingly tranquility of seniority and respectability, technology was being used as an excuse for eliminating older workers as far back as the 1800"tms in this country. " Although legally society has taken precautions to avoid discrimination against the elderly worker, society itself has perpetuated the myth of youth into our sociological consciousness that allows us to cast aside workers once highly recognized within the workplace.