The connotation of the Hale v. ABF Freight Systems, Inc. case, originally filed in June 2010, and withdrawn to be refiled 11/1/2011 will be the focus of this paper. .
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) was passed by Congress to make it unlawful for an employer to base employment decisions on a worker's age. Typically, the ADEA prohibits the employer from making employment decisions based on the age of the employee as opposed to the employee's job performance or the merits of the situation. The ADEA was designed to combat ageism, based on unfounded stereotypes about the diminished capabilities of older employees by forcing employers to critic older workers on their merits, not age-based myths, prejudices or stereotypes. The ADEA covers workers age 40 and older. .
The ADEA was amended by Older Workers' Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) in 1990 and 1998 to give workers increased protection. Age Discrimination in America is triggering workers over the age of 40 to be dismissed from jobs at an alarming rate while the companies are asserting downsizing, lack of training, or simply the employee was unable to perform their job any longer as reasons for dismissal. It is indisputable– the United States work force is aging. Workers are staying in their jobs longer and retiring later. Baby boomers are re-entering the work force at an older age both as a means to manage the cost of living and to stay active. While we should applaud these efforts and value the contribution older workers can provide, the reality is that a significant amount of age discrimination exists. .
Employees of age discrimination, often find themselves working in a hostile work environment which includes discriminatory age remarks suggesting the employee is incapable of handling the position. Age discrimination is one of the fastest growing areas of employment discrimination (Buckley & Klein, LLP, 2013).
