AARP Hearing Center
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Age discrimination is real. Two out of three workers 50 and older say they face age discrimination in the workplace, with many saying it prevented them from being hired, according to AARP Research surveys. If you happen to work in the high-tech or entertainment industries, your chances of experiencing age discrimination are even higher.
While the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) makes it illegal to discriminate against workers age 40 and up, the exact rules, and how they are interpreted, aren't always so clear to workers. Here are 10 important facts you should know about age discrimination:
1.) Age discrimination is illegal at any stage of employment, including during hiring, promotions, raises and layoffs. The law also prohibits workplace harassment, by coworkers, supervisors or clients, because of age. The ADEA applies to employers that have at least 20 employees; some states have stronger protections. Also prohibited: mandatory retirement ages except for a few exemptions, such as airline pilots and public safety workers.
2.) It is currently legal for employers and prospective employers to ask your age as well as your graduation date. AARP is working to strengthen protections against this line of inquiry. You can opt to remove this identifying information from your LinkedIn profile , or try to redirect the question in an interview, but there's nothing stopping a prospective employer from asking. However, state laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota and Pennsylvania do specifically prohibit questions about age during the hiring process.
3.) A 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it harder for older workers who've experienced proven age discrimination to prevail in court. The court said plaintiffs must meet a higher burden of proof for age discrimination than for other types of discrimination. In other words, the Supreme Court moved the law backward and sent a message to employers that some amount of proven discrimination is legally allowed.
4.) Most Americans age 50 and up — 9 in 10, according to AARP research — say they want to see Congress create stronger laws to prevent age discrimination at work
5.) Most people believe age discrimination begins when workers hit their 50s. According to a 2023 survey of employers from the Transamerica Insitute, 35 percent of the respondents thought the median age when applicants were "too old" to be hired was 58. The respondents also said that 62 was the median age of someone being "too old" to work.
6.) There's also a gender difference in the perception of age discrimination: While 72 percent of women between the ages of 45 and 74 said they think people face age discrimination at work, only 57 percent of men in the same age range said so.
