Congress has established three major laws that address age discrimination.
The U.S. government sets laws that prevent entities from discriminating against individuals on the basis of age. The laws also prohibit discriminating against individuals in hiring and workplace promotions. The three laws the federal government enforces are the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
The Age Discrimination Act of 1975
The Age Discrimination Act prohibits any entity receiving federal funds from discriminating based on age. The law is primarily designed to ensure that individuals are not denied access to programs and activities supported by federal money based on their age. The U.S. Department of Labor's Civil Rights Center enforces the act's provisions. When an individual believes someone has violated the act, that person can bring a suit in U.S. district court. This will result in a judicial review. If the judge rules in favor of the plaintiff, the federal government administrative office is required to cover the cost of the plaintiff's attorney fees and any compensation established by a judge.
ADEA Act
Many job ads advertise their compliance with the rules of the EEOC. This acronym stands for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission's primary function is to enforce federal laws banning discrimination in the workplace. One of the laws is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. This federal legislation protects job applicants and employees 40 and older against age discrimination in hiring, job promotion, compensation, job discharge and employee privileges. The law does not apply to workers who are younger than 40. The ADEA allows employers to favor older works even if doing so adversely affects younger workers who are also 40 or older. The law, though, only applies to employers with 20 or more employees. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations. The law does not allow any age preference language to be included in job ads unless a certain age range is known to be reasonably necessary for the work.
Workforce Investment Act of 1998
In 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act. Section 188 prohibits applicant and employee age discrimination in the workplace for certain programs and activities supported by the act. Complaints claiming non-compliance with Section 188 can be reported to the Civil Rights Center, which forwards the information to the U.S. Attorney General's office. The Attorney General's office then determines whether a government entity, such as a state, has violated the act. Positive rulings cause the matter to be forwarded to a U.S. district court for civil action.
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