Depending on your age, you may begin to wonder if your employer is discriminating against you.
While there are times when people are nothing more than paranoid, this isn't always the case. There's a possibility you could be the victim of age discrimination at some point. If you have reason to believe this is true, you'll want to learn more about what's going on and how to protect your legal rights.
Here are a handful of common signs of age discrimination:
- Older workers in the company are being terminated or offered buyouts to leave, while younger employees take on more responsibility. This doesn't necessarily point toward age discrimination, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
- Your job responsibilities change, often with a younger employee taking over. For example, you move out of your current position and into one in which you complete unpleasant tasks throughout your day. This may happen when an employer wants to force you to quit.
- The comments about your age come about all too often. There's nothing wrong with a joke every now and again, but if a supervisor continually cracks on your age you should take notice.
- Your performance reviews are negative, despite your steady performance. This often happens when a company decides they want to push older individuals out the door. It could also come into play if a younger supervisor is hired, such as one who thinks that older workers don't have any part in the company.
The tricky thing about age discrimination is that it can be difficult to pinpoint. For instance, just because you are asked to do another type of job doesn't necessarily mean it's a direct result of your age. It could simply be that the company needs you to pick up the slack in another department for the time being.
If you have reason to believe you're a victim of age discrimination, the best thing you can do is take detailed notes to back up your claim. From there, learn more about your legal rights and if you're in any position to take action against your employer.