You have been a loyal employee for years, gained years of precious experience and, perhaps, bagged several employee-of-the-month recognitions. By all accounts, you believe you are a valuable employee. Unfortunately, you have recently noticed that you are not receiving the same treatment as your younger, less experienced teammates. Could it be what you are thinking?
Both Ohio and federal laws prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on their race, gender, age, religion and other protected characteristics. If your employer discriminates against you based on your age, then you need to file an age discrimination claim against them. But how do you conclusively identify age discrimination at work?
Understanding how age discrimination at work looks like
Unlike the other forms of workplace discrimination, age discrimination (or ageism) is never easy to detect. Here are a couple of signs you need to look out for if you suspect age discrimination at your place of work:
- You are being bypassed for learning opportunities for younger employees. This can include being denied reimbursement for continuing education or participation in industry or professional conferences.
- You are being overlooked for certain “complex assignments.” This could also come in the form of being unfairly tasked with unpleasant or tedious assignments given your age.
- A communicated or non-communicated assumption that you should not take time off for family commitments.
- Being overlooked for promotions and pay raises.
- Disparaging remarks about your age. While this may start off as subtle and playful comments, persistent jokes regarding your retirement plans, posture or outdated computer skills could amount to age discrimination.
- Poor and unjustified performance appraisal
Being discriminated against for any reason whatsoever is disheartening. If you are discriminated against based on your age, it helps to understand that you can take legal action against the perpetrator.