Acting Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Victoria A. Lipnic has issued a new report reviewing the state of age discrimination and how the EEOC’s enforcement efforts have evolved in the 50 years since the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) went into effect in June 1968.
In an introductory memo accompanying the “State of Age Discrimination and Older Workers in the U.S.” (“ADEA @ 50”) Report, Ms. Lipnic observes that many of the same issues that impacted older workers in 1968 continue to persist, creating barriers to full employment opportunities. She notes further that even in the current economy in which unemployment rates are at historic lows, older workers who lose a job “have much more difficulty finding a new job than younger workers,” with the “one constant” being “age discrimination.”
Among other things, the Report highlights the efforts the EEOC has made over the years to educate the public on age discrimination issues and pursue enforcement where warranted. Although we are not aware of any new enforcement initiative or activity other than commemorating the ADEA’s 50th anniversary that may have prompted the Report, it does provide an interesting historical overview of the ADEA and addresses current issues affecting older workers on the job, such as unfounded assumptions about older workers’ skills and abilities, the aging of the U.S. workforce, and both blatant and unconscious discrimination because of age.
A copy of the ADEA @ 50 Report is available on the EEOC’s website.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.