Fighting Age Discrimination at Work

Many employees who are nearing retirement age have concerns about age discrimination at their places of employment. How can you be certain if you have been discriminated against because of age? And are there any steps you can take to prevent age discrimination from happening in the first place? According to a recent article in The New York Times, age discrimination is notoriously tough to prove, but you may be able to take steps to avoid becoming the target of age discrimination at work.

A Good Offense May Be Your Best Defense to Age Discrimination

As the article notes, it is rare for employees to have a clear-cut case of age discrimination. To be sure, when a worker brings an age discrimination claim, she typically does not have her employer on record telling her that she cannot do her job any longer because she is too old. As such, these claims can be difficult to prove. Given that fact, employees should consider steps to ensure that they have done everything they can during the course of their employment to prove that they are capable of doing the job. Such steps can include:

Keeping on top of developments in your field;
Seeking out new training at work and outside your place of employment;
Informing your employer about your additional training, and letting your employer know that you are ready and willing to engage in training courses that can improve your skills and knowledge; and
Regularly seeking feedback on your work performance.

By taking these steps, you will have documented evidence of your ability to perform well in your job. In particular, having regular performance reviews can demonstrate your abilities to succeed in your field. As such, in the event that you do believe you have been the target of age discrimination, you will have more evidence to support your claim.

Common Signs of Age Discrimination

As we mentioned, employers often do not come right out and tell you that they believe you are too old to do your job. Instead, you might notice other signs of age discrimination at work. According to an article from AARP, the following are some common signs that you may be the target of age discrimination, or that age discrimination is happening at your place of employment:

Older employees are being fired or are being offered buyouts at the same time that younger workers with similar qualifications are being hired in their places.
Older employees are being assigned to less pleasant workplace duties, and some have even quit their jobs as a result.
Your employer has made jokes about your age and your plans to retire.
You have stopped receiving raises despite consistently favorable performance reviews, while younger employees are receiving raises.
Out of the blue, you start to get poor performance reviews despite a longstanding trend of favorable reviews.

Contact a Florida Labor Lawyer

If you have questions about employment discrimination, an experienced West Palm Beach labor lawyer can discuss your situation with you today. Contact Scott Law Team for more information about how we can help.