Insist on Age-Neutral Employment Practices

By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2004-04-08 11:54:11

The best employers make sure that all their policies and practices are age neutral. This means that all opportunities—and rules—apply the same to all employees, regardless of how old or young they are. An employee's age should never be a factor in any decision. Age-neutral employment decisions do not violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

But what if your employer turns down your request for a flexible work arrangement? Must employers use age neutral practices?

In fact, laws do not require many of the employment practices that benefit older workers.

Some workers are surprised to learn that no federal law requires employers to provide vacation or holiday pay, pay raises, or benefits like health insurance. Yet, most employers do provide these to attract and keep good workers.

In the same way, more employers are adding age neutral practices and benefits. The workforce is changing. Future labor shortages are likely in many job fields. Employers will want to appeal to older workers so that they'll have enough good employees.

So, you and your employer negotiate flexible work arrangements. If your employer denies your first request, you can wait awhile, gather more facts, and try more persuasion later. Your employer cannot base a decision on your age. All employment decisions and practices must be age neutral.

You may want to make sure that your employer's lack of age neutral practices does not violate the ADEA. Here's what you need to know.

ADEA Basics

  • The ADEA protects you if you are a job applicant or employee, age 40 or older. If you are an elected official, independent contractor, or military personnel, the ADEA does not apply to you.
  • The ADEA says that employers must make all employment decisions based on someone's qualifications, not on their age. This includes every possible aspect of a job, including recruiting, hiring, firing, compensation, benefits, and all terms and conditions of the work.
  • It also includes decisions about flexible work arrangements. Those decisions, too, must consider only your qualifications, not your age.
  • Age discrimination can occur when an employer makes an ageist assumption about an older worker. For example, say that your employer assumes you will not work much longer. Therefore, he denies your request to telecommute from home. Your employer assumes that it won't be worth it to provide or train you to use the needed computer equipment. Your age is the reason for your employer's decision. That decision would be against the law.
  • The ADEA covers employers with 20 or more employees. Most states and some localities have laws that cover smaller employers.

ADEA Examples

All employment decisions must be job-related, applied equally to workers of all ages, and have nothing to do with your age.

Use these examples to plan or follow up on a request for a flexible work arrangement or other age neutralpractice.

  • Can younger workers at your workplace use flexible schedules, job sharing, or reduced work hours? If so, older workers must also be able to use these arrangements, based on the job and their qualifications.
  • Do you need training? Maybe you want training to qualify for a job that you could divide into a job share. If younger workers can get such training, older workers must too.
  • Say that jobs above a certain level can be done on a part-time basis. Your job is at that level. You request part-time work. Your employer demotes you, so that your job no longer qualifies for part-time status. Make sure the decision did not take your age into consideration.
  • With your new flex-time schedule, you are at work much earlier in the morning than before. All the other early workers are much younger than you. They begin to harass you. They ridicule you, say you work too slowly, and make comments about your needing to retire. You start to lose confidence and your work suffers. The ADEA requires your employer to ensure that workers or managers do not harass older employees.
  • After you've been retired for a while, you hear about a part-time job that offers benefits. You have a family friend who just got one of these jobs. There are still openings. You are qualified. The employer tells you that you can have the job but not the benefits. Try to get benefit information in writing. Get help to find out if this is an ADEA violation.
  • You cannot be fired, laid off, or forced to retire early because of your age. You cannot be forced to retire at a certain age. If you receive an early-retirement offer or incentive after requesting a flexible work arrangement, be careful. There must be a reasonable factor—other than age—for the decision about your request, or for any retirement offer.

AARP Resources

  • AARP Litigation—How We Can Help You
    If you need legal help, see if AARP may be able to represent you.

Additional Resources

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