12 Not-So-Subtle Signs Of Age Discrimination In The Workplace

Many workers over 40 in Los Angeles and all across California become victims of age discrimination, while an increasing number of discriminatory employers continue forcing employees over 40 out and replacing them with younger, social media-savvy people.

Signs of age discrimination – or any other type of discrimination, for that matter – may be tough to spot, especially when employers or coworkers do it in a subtle and elusive manner. But our Los Angeles discrimination attorney Matthew Kaufman is pro at spotting signs of age discrimination in the workplace, and today he is going to share his wisdom and experience with you.

So what are the signs of age discrimination in the workplace in California? What behaviors and actions could possibly make you entitled to file a discrimination claim against the employer?

Signs of age discrimination in the workplace

Be alert to these 12 signs of age discrimination at work and contact a Los Angeles age discrimination lawyer as soon as you notice any of them:

1. Hiring large numbers of young people while proposing early retirement to older employees or eliminating positions held by workers over 40.
2. Talking about the “culture” or fresh blood of the company or mentioning something about cultural differences between younger and older employees.
3. Joking about age or making humiliating comments about older workers’ future retirement plans.
4. Speaking slowly and loudly when talking to older employees, thinking that they are suffering from hearing loss.
5. Making jokes about older employees’ physical abilities such as typing slower than younger workers, gasping for air after walking upstairs, etc.
6. Reassigning older workers and/or giving them unpleasant tasks, in a way to force them out of the company. For example, if unpleasant duties such as cleaning after a workday are given exclusively to older workers, it may be a red flag.
7. Keeping older workers away from clients, and allowing only younger employees to communicate with clients and customers.
8. Giving poor performance reviews solely because of age. Many employers give their older employees poor performance reviews several months prior to firing them in order to protect themselves from a wrongful termination lawsuit. However, if performance reviews are handed out unfairly and do not reflect the employer’s actual satisfaction with an older employee’s work, the fired employer over 40 may still be entitled to file a wrongful termination claim alleging age discrimination, our Los Angeles discrimination attorney at The Kaufman Law Firm explains.
9. Hiring only “digital natives” or “social-media savvy” employees, implying that only younger people are qualified to do this job (in cases where digital and social media prowess has no relation to the job duties, e.g. a mover, cashier, etc.).
10. Older employees get turned down for promotion more frequently than younger employees.
11. Leaving employees over 40 out of the decision-making process and removing older workers from meetings or other work-related activities.
12. Putting older employees on an employee improvement plan despite the fact that the employee’s performance has been good and he or she has had no history of wrongful behavior or anything that would violate the company’s policies.

If you have noticed any of the above-mentioned signs of age discrimination at work, do not hesitate to contact our best discrimination attorneys in California at The Kaufman Law Firm. Call our offices at 310-981-3404 or send us an email to get a consultation.