Age Discrimination
Age Discrimination in Employment
Research Report
April 2002
World NGO Forum on Ageing
On April 11, 2002 at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid, Spain, AARP sponsored a side event focusing on age discrimination in employment. With the European Union directing all Member States to enact legislation prohibiting age discrimination in employment by the year 2006, this topic is receiving increasing attention throughout the world.
Beginning the discussion, Laurie McCann, an attorney with the AARP Foundation Litigation, provided an overview of the nature and causes of age discrimination. Ms. McCann then went on to describe the United States’ experience in legislating against the problem of age discrimination in employment. She explained the U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), including its coverage, prohibitions and exceptions. She continued by describing some of the weaknesses in the ADEA. According to McCann, the most significant problem is that age discrimination is perceived as different from other forms of discrimination in the United States. Specifically, American society does not believe that age discrimination is as wrong or as serious as other forms of discrimination such as gender or race discrimination. Ms. McCann believes this problem stems from Congress enacting a separate statute to prohibit age discrimination in employment as opposed to adding age as a protected category under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. statute that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, gender, national origin and religion.
Next, Todd Peterson, Chief Executive of HelpAge International, reported that age discrimination is a serious problem for developing countries as well as developed ones. Peterson noted that international agencies contribute to the problem. For example, the World Bank, does not include the elderly as a target group in its poverty reduction process (PRSP). Peterson explained that where developing countries do have formal structures in place, such as pension schemes, they cover men, but not women who constitute the majority of the older population. Peterson concluded by noting that because labor markets differ so markedly in developing countries, fundamentally different solutions are needed to deal with age discrimination, particularly solutions that focus on the informal sector. For more information on HelpAge’s campaign against age discrimination, see “Equal Treatment, Equal Rights: Ten Actions to End Age Discrimination” (November 2001).
As mentioned above, the European Union has adopted an anti-discrimination Directive on employment, which has to be converted into national legislation in each EU Member State. Erlien Wubs of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment reported on her country’s efforts to comply with the EU’s directive. According to Wubs, the national implementation process has been slow, however, the Netherlands is moving steadily towards enacting legislation that would prohibit age discrimination in employment. Unlike the U.S. law, which has a minimum age for its protections, the Netherlands’ statute would protect workers of all ages from discrimination. Wubs also reported that the proposed legislation would permit a worker to be dismissed when they became eligible for a pension and for safety concerns. In the Netherlands, retirement is still considered a “public good.”
The final panelist, Florian Leger of the International Labour Organization (ILO), reviewed the major ILO conventions and recommendations that concern age discrimination and older workers. According to Leger, by far the most comprehensive instrument on the subject is the Older Workers Recommendation, 1980 (No. 162). This instrument spells out the ILO’s principles and provides guidance for national policy. It’s three objectives are: prevention of discrimination in employment and occupation; increased social protection; and preparation for and access to retirement. The ILO is now in the process of reviewing all it its conventions and recommendations to ensure that they are mutually reinforcing and consistent with current trends and policies.
Resources
Age Discrimination in Employment Legislation: The United States Experience
Age Discrimination in Employment Legislation in Europe