Signs of Age Discrimination at Work and What You Can Do About It
For a lot of us, age is just a number. That’s another story at the workplace. Many employees have felt targeted at work because of their age despite their experience and knowledge. If that sounds familiar, you need to speak with a lawyer who can identify age discrimination on the job.
The team at our Allen, TX, employment law office would like to go over some signs of age-related workplace discrimination. We’ll then note some legal protections and why you need to discuss what happened with a Texas labor law attorney.
Common Examples of Age Discrimination
These are some forms of age discrimination we hear about from many clients:
- Insults or disparaging comments about a person’s age
- Only hiring employees who are younger than a certain age
- Not promoting employees who are older than a certain age
- Forcing older employees into retirement against their will
- Predominantly targeting older employees for layoffs
- Levying harsher discipline for older employees than younger employees
- Maintaining a sizeable wage gap based on an employee’s age
- Being socially ostracized at work on the basis of age
The list goes on, but the above examples cover the typical ways that companies and co-workers mistreat people based on their age.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was passed to prohibit age discrimination at the workplace.
The ADEA protects workers and job applicants who are 40 years old or older from acts of discrimination. This includes mistreatment on the basis of age during the interview and hiring process, determining wages, weighing promotion opportunities, and other terms of employment.
Many Cases of Age Discrimination Go Unreported
Despite the legal protections that are in place for older employees, many instances of age discrimination go unreported. Sadly, this is the case for many forms of mistreatment at the workplace.
The primary reasons for this is the fear of retaliation from bosses and supervisors. This could take the form of reduced wages, cut hours, loss of privileges at work, a general feeling of hostility while on the job, or even the loss of employment.
We’ve worked on a number of wrongful termination cases for speaking up about mistreatment. Workers can feel confident that our law firm is on your side.
How an Employment Lawyer Can Help You
If you’ve faced any sort of discrimination at work because you are an older person, it’s worth speaking with a lawyer about what happened.
We know that company HR may not always intervene on your behalf, so our team can step in and help you stand up to mistreatment.
During a consultation, we can determine if your job fosters a hostile work environment, if your experiences at work constitute discrimination, and what steps you can take next. Our law firm will help you take a meaningful stand, assert your legal protections, and hold your supervisor or employer accountable for perpetuating a toxic work culture.
Contact Our Law Office in Allen, TX
Were you discriminated at work because of your age? Whether you live in the Dallas suburbs or elsewhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, you can turn to our law firm for help. To discuss what happened with a skilled attorney, contact our law office in Allen today.