Age Discrimination Case In The Recruitment Process
Examples of an Age Discrimination Case In The Recruitment Process
Whether you’re a business owner wanting to change or write new processes, or have been a victim of an age discrimination case, it can happen at any point in the workplace. Most people are victims when working for a company for years, only to be let go for age discrepancies, such as someone else having more experience or training, but are simply younger. Sometimes you don’t even make it past the recruitment process. Read on to find out more about age discrimination and how to avoid this from happening to you. And if you’re seeking representation, look no further than the Fort Lauderdale offices of Mark J. Berkowitz P.A.
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Avoiding Discrimination
The same can go for advertisements with only younger looking individuals on the adverts. Also avoiding specific time lengths for experience is ideal, instead only listing the type or depth of experience. For example, if you require ten years of experience for a position, it can inadvertently exclude 20 year olds, and even 30 year olds from applying.
Outlining the areas of expertise or qualifications should also be kept strictly to what is needed for the specific role applicants are applying for. You may apply for a job that requires a PhD, but if you’re over the age of 50 and already don’t have this degree, that is discrimination as it’s most likely not a possibility or goal for someone older to seek a PhD.
Age Discrimination Cases
During the interviewing process, you could be the employer or the future employee trying to navigate through all the various questions without inciting or being a victim of age discrimination, respectively. Preparing interview questions in advance can avoid any discrimination through more thoughtful questions, and allowing you time to re-read and make sure there is no bias.
Recruiters can easily fall into age-related questions and even about the candidate’s health due to their age, which can be problematic. Many cases have been won by individuals being asked about their ages, their strength and overall health. Even writing the age of your candidate down on top of their application is making the age more of the focus then the experience or skills.
The worst thing you can do as a recruiter is instill an age limit on your open position. This can be direct age discrimination, depending on the actual physical requirements of the job. It’s risky from the very beginning, therefore ensure that you absolutely have to set an age limit for your open position and make sure it’s clear as to why.
One such example was in recruiting police officers, with an age limit of 35. The police department ended up winning in this case, since the physical capabilities of the applicants are weighed more heavily and necessary to perform their duties. There was a company, however, hiring for administration duties with an age limit of 30, which was ruled as age discrimination since most anyone of any age can perform those duties easily.
Technically, recruiters aren’t allowed to specifically ask your age during an interview. But with most applications asking for a date of birth or at the very least ensuring you’re over 18 years old, they will most likely know your age during the recruitment process.
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If you feel you were treated unfairly in the hiring or recruiting process because of your age, you may want to seek legal counsel. The law offices of Mark J. Berkowitz P.A. can help you navigate your experiences and figure out if you have an age discrimination case or not. Call our Fort Lauderdale offices today!