If you are a job applicant or worker over 40, you could have concerns about how your age could affect your position or career opportunities. It is crucial to recognize any mistreatment immediately and understand how the law protects you as a current or prospective employee.
Regrettably, you could face serious hurdles due to mistreatment based solely on your age. For example, an employer could reject your application because they want to hire younger staff members, even though you are an excellent candidate. On the other hand, you could find yourself out of work or demoted over your age.
The prevalence of age discrimination
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published data on age discrimination during fiscal year 2020. Over the course of this period, the EEOC received more than 14,100 age discrimination charge filings. In fact, this represented 21% of total discrimination charges filed with the agency.
Unfortunately, this does not reflect the entire scope of the problem since some victims of discrimination stay silent due to not understanding their rights or concerns about retaliation for speaking out.
The impact of age discrimination
Aside from derailing your career, age discrimination could affect you in other ways. You could have a considerable amount of anxiety and even depression as a result of mistreatment based on your age. Finding work could prove particularly challenging and you might struggle to pay bills or feed your family because of unfair and unlawful treatment due to your age.
It is crucial to recognize any instances of age discrimination immediately.