Some cases of age discrimination are isolated incidents that only apply to a specific case. If an applicant comes in for an interview and the interviewer tells them to their face that they are not going to hire someone of their age, that could be a serious violation of that person’s rights. They deserve an equal chance to show that they deserve the job based on their skills, abilities, experience and education.
But in other cases, age discrimination is systemic in nature. This means that it is more of an ingrained issue, a part of the business structure or the way that the employer operates. It may be seen as an unacceptable industry norm or a type of behavior that people within the business expect. As such, these systemic issues can apply to multiple employees or potential employees, rather than being part of an isolated incident.
The way that job postings are structured
One indicator of these types of deep-seated systemic issues is the way that job postings are written. They may have certain keywords or details that make age discrimination clear even before a person has applied for the job.
For instance, perhaps the job posting says that the company is only looking for recent college graduates, implying that those who are given serious consideration are likely to be in their early 20s. Maybe the posting says that the company is looking for young and energetic workers, without specifying an age. Or perhaps it claims that the company wants to hire digital natives, or those who grew up with the internet and modern digital technology, as opposed to those who have been working in the industry for decades and have significant experience.
When employees see indicators of this systemic age discrimination, they may worry about the impact it has on their career and their job prospects. Those who find themselves in this position need to know what legal options they have.