Age Discrimination in the Workplace Essay Example
AGE DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE
Harold had been with the company going on forty-five years. There was no doubt that his contributions over the past few decades helped the once intimate business flourish into an international corporation. As his sixty-fifth birthday rolled around, Harold was greeted with a staff party and a mandatory retirement notice that was effective two weeks from that date. Harold was stunned, inasmuch as he had no intentions whatsoever to leave his position with the company; indeed, he was still fully able to complete his duties better than any new hire ever could, not to mention the fact that his attendance record was spotless. Needless to say, Harold was completely taken aback with the discovery that his company loyalty was cast aside in order to accommodate a younger workforce.
Age discrimination has become more than a minor inconvenience throughout the twentieth century; indeed, the issue has become such a hot potato within the workplace that laws have been forced into existence as a means by which to address the problem. In order to help protect those who stand to be singled out and let go because of the unfairness of ageism, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was designed with the older employee in mind.
The issue at hand constitutes that companies are not willing to look beyond their aging workforce, choosing instead to push them out of the technological loop rather than attempting to incorporate them as valuable assets. "There is enough research that says older workers are dependable, they can change, they can learn. What we haven' t come to grips with is that research and management practice are not always related" (Capowski, 1994, p. 10).
I. LAWS IN ACTION
The most powerful law that was designed as a means by which protect people from age discrimination is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) establishing that no person age forty or older can be discriminated against in any area of employment.
Harold had been with the company going on forty-five years. There was no doubt that his contributions over the past few decades helped the once intimate business flourish into an international corporation. As his sixty-fifth birthday rolled around, Harold was greeted with a staff party and a mandatory retirement notice that was effective two weeks from that date. Harold was stunned, inasmuch as he had no intentions whatsoever to leave his position with the company; indeed, he was still fully able to complete his duties better than any new hire ever could, not to mention the fact that his attendance record was spotless. Needless to say, Harold was completely taken aback with the discovery that his company loyalty was cast aside in order to accommodate a younger workforce.
Age discrimination has become more than a minor inconvenience throughout the twentieth century; indeed, the issue has become such a hot potato within the workplace that laws have been forced into existence as a means by which to address the problem. In order to help protect those who stand to be singled out and let go because of the unfairness of ageism, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was designed with the older employee in mind.
The issue at hand constitutes that companies are not willing to look beyond their aging workforce, choosing instead to push them out of the technological loop rather than attempting to incorporate them as valuable assets. "There is enough research that says older workers are dependable, they can change, they can learn. What we haven' t come to grips with is that research and management practice are not always related" (Capowski, 1994, p. 10).
I. LAWS IN ACTION
The most powerful law that was designed as a means by which protect people from age discrimination is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) establishing that no person age forty or older can be discriminated against in any area of employment.