Question

Post a news article that addresses the rights, or lack of rights, or employees over 40 years old. Include a summary of the article and your analysis of whether the employee was discriminated against based on age. Indicate how you believe the situation should have been handled differently and whether you believe it is appropriate to provide extra protection to older employees.

Answer 1

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that governs and puts into effect civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. EEOC examines and evaluates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and revenge for exposing or opposing a discriminatory practice.

Helen a 45-year-old fashion model had alleged that she was discriminated based on age by Spectacular a modeling agency which had advertised in the fashion section of the newspaper mentioning that they required experienced models between age group 21-28 years for their upcoming fall collection fashion show and candidates must bring their portfolio and references while attending their interview at their Beverly Hill office and only those individuals in the specified age group should apply.

Helen had auditioned but was discarded when the organization came to know about her age. During the process of investigation Spectacular had raised the bona fide occupational qualification as protection and affirmed that the fashion show was intended towards demonstrating junior collection which indeed required candidates who had a youthful appearance and furthermore they asserted that customarily the fashion show was targeted towards younger women generally between the age group of 18-25 years.

However even though Helen was 45 years of age but her looks made her appeared to be around 27 years of age and in fact Spectacular was in the process of completing the essential paperwork to appoint her when they noticed the date of birth on her driver's license.

Furthermore Spectacular couldn’t prove that individuals in their age of 40 years and above had a prohibiting and excluding mannerism and peculiarity that couldn’t be determined unless you check the age of the applicant. Spectacular was not able to prove that age was a bona fide occupational qualification and thus it was required to change the discriminatory advertisement.

EEOC had recognized and accredited in an advertisement which evidently discriminates on the basis of age that the employer can assert and maintain age as a bona fide occupational qualification. Furthermore in order to ascertain that age is a bona fide occupational qualification for a specific job employer should be able to exhibit and confirm that significantly all individuals excluded from the job are in fact disqualified. Thus if a confined individual in fact can perform the job then this would overcome and overpower the assertion that age is a bona fide occupational qualification.