The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published
a report on "The State of Age
Discrimination and Older Workers in the U.S. 50 Years After the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)." One of the main
points of the report is that
age discrimination remains a significant and costly
problem.
Age Discrimination Charges Filed by Older Workers Are on the
Rise
It is not surprising that as the age of the US workforce has
increased considerably over the past decades, the number of charges
filed by workers 55-64 has also increased and now outnumbers the
charges filed by younger age cohorts.
The report states: "Unfounded assumptions about age and
ability continue to drive age discrimination in the workplace.
Research on ageist stereotypes demonstrates that most people have
specific negative beliefs about aging and that most of those
beliefs are inaccurate. These stereotypes often may be applied to
older workers, leading to negative evaluations and/or