Reference no: EM131759030

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is a benefit or compliance issue that all organizations must be aware of. In fact, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the act states it is “unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s age” (EEOC). In addition, the act states, “age discrimination is unlawful in any phase of employment including job postings, job descriptions, interviews, hiring, salaries, job assignments, merit increases, performance management and evaluations, training, disciplinary actions, promotions, demotions, benefits, employment termination and layoffs (Heathfield, 2016). Therefore during interviews, companies must steer away for questions that inquire about age or when an applicant graduated. This can be perceived as age discrimination if the company “used this information to eliminate a candidate” (Heathfield, 2016).