You should never receive anything less than full consideration for a position because of your age. Yet some federal organizations use tactics to push out older employees. Still protected under law, these companies offer benefits of leaving the business early or call out small performance issues. Doing so, they legally lower their employee age demographic.
Before accusing your company, you must ensure that your situation constitutes age discrimination. Your reputation in your company risks being tarnished if your claims cannot be not backed up by the EEOC. Unverified legal allegations against your business may damage your career. As a result, you could be viewed as an employee looking for a payout.
Federal organizations may use the following tactics to filter out older employees.
- Complicated technology updates: Some federal agencies use a seasoned employee’s inability to understand technology as their grounds for firing. Unfortunately, adapting to new technology generally affects older workers. Often, federal employees conduct business with specific technology for many years, and older generations may find it more difficult to adapt to change.
- Early retirement benefits: Many federal businesses avoid EEOC violations by offering a tempting early retirement incentive plan (ERIP). According to a study conducted at Georgetown University, employers use ERIPs in hopes of opening jobs to younger workers. Businesses may provide these employees with lower salaries than experienced individuals.
- Changes to employee standards: Perhaps you have worked for a federal organization for 30 years. Suddenly, you must attend conduct meetings for behaviors you have exhibited throughout your time at the company. You may feel you are being targeted for your age. However, as long as your company gives notice to workers of changed rules and notifies workers that they must abide by new guidelines, your organization follows EEOC laws.
- Overqualification: Being overqualified for a job describes one of the most common reasons federal agencies use for not extending an offer letter to an individual. Some organizations assume you would request a higher salary than what may be offered. Some businesses use this excuse to not hire older men and women.
Though all federal businesses must comply with the EEOC, loopholes allow for some organizations to legally determine not to hire someone due to age. In fact, in 2017, 18 percent of all EEOC charges filed in Maryland cited age discrimination.
The law protects you from age discrimination. Your knowledge of the law ensures that you recognize when the law may not apply.