Uphill fight against age-related job discrimination

Age-related discrimination in the workplace still exists 50 years after the enactment of legislation designed to prevent it, aging experts and advocates told the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday.

Laurie McCann, senior attorney for the AARP Foundation Litigation, said the law “should not be treated as a second-class civil rights statute providing older workers far less protection than other civil rights laws.”

McCann urged the EEOC to be more aggressive in pursuing age discrimination cases.

Recent meeting was the first in a series aimed at assessing the state of age discrimination 50 years after it became illegal. During the meeting, the commissioners listened to experts and asked questions about possible solutions but there was no set plan for how to address the concerns raised.

Victoria Lipnic, acting EEOC chair, said the commission would work to “ensure opportunities are based on ability, not age.”

The agency receives about 20,000 age discrimination complaints each year, with women more likely to file them than men, she said.

“No one should be denied a job or should lose a job based on assumptions or stereotypes,” Lipnic said.

McCann said discrimination begins as early as the job search. She cited job listings that include maximum years of experience and others that require applicants to be “digital natives,” meaning the applicants grew up using technology. (AP)