Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. Home
3. A-Bo
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits any employer from refusing to hire,
discharge, or otherwise discriminate against any individual because of age. The act covers
compensation, terms, conditions and other privileges of employment including health care
benefits. This act specifically prohibits age-based discrimination against employees who are at
least 40 years of age. The purpose of the act is to promote the employment of older persons
and to prohibit any arbitrary age discrimination in employment.
The roots of the ADEA can be traced back to 1964, when the U.S. government enacted Title VII
of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This act radically changed working life in the United States. The
core of Title VII was to prohibit discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, national
origin, or religion. This statute provided a way for women and minorities, in particular, to
challenge barriers that limited equal opportunities in organizations. States adopted similar
legislation as well. One variable noticeably missing from Title VII was age discrimination. Three
years later, the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives enacted the 1967 Age
Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
SCOPE OF COVERAGE
The ADEA covers individuals, partnerships, labor organizations and employment agencies, and
corporations that: 1) engage in an industry affecting interstate commerce and 2) employ at least
20 individuals. The Act also controls state and local governments. Referrals by an employment
agency to a covered employer are within the ADEA's scope regardless of the agency's size. In
addition, the ADEA covers labor union practices affecting union members; usually, unions with
25 or more members are covered. The ADEA protects against age discrimination in many
employment contexts, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignment, and fringe benefits.
Under the act, employers are forbidden to refuse to hire, to discharge, or to discriminate against
anyone with respect to the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a person's
age. The act also forbids employees from limiting, segregating, or classifying an individual in a
way that adversely affects their employment because of age. The act states that all job
requirements must be truly job-related and forbids employers to reduce the wage rate of an
employee to comply with the Act. It forbids seniority systems or benefits plans that call for
involuntary requirements due to age and also makes it illegal for employees to indicate any
issue related to age in advertisements for job opportunities.
The ADEA was enacted to promote the employment of older persons based on ability rather
than age and to help employers and employees find ways to meeting problems arising from the
impact of age on employment. As a result, the Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to performs
studies and provide information to labor unions, management, and the public about the abilities
and needs of older workers and their employment potential and varied contributions to the
economy.
FURTHER READING:
Geisel, Jerry "Court Broadens Scope of ADEA" Business Insurance. August 14, 2000.
"Congress Must Fix ADEA." Business Insurance. September 4, 2000.
Metzger, M.B., J.P. Mallory, A.J. Barns, T. Bowers, M.J. Phillips, and A. Langvardt. Business
Law and The Regulatory Environment. McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Zachary, Mary-Kathryn. "Age Discrimination—Part I: The State Employee." Supervision. July
2000.
Zachary, Mary-Kathryn. "Age Discrimination—Part II: The Private
Employee." Supervision. September 2000.
Zall, Milton. "Age Discrimination—What Is It Besides Illegal?" Fleet Equipment. April 2000.
Other articles you might like:
User Contributions:
Top of Form
Name:
E-mail:
Show my email publicly
Send comment
Bottom of Form