[/caption]Editor - NEW YORK, NY, - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a number of New York employment discrimination lawyers report an increase in age discrimination lawsuits, as more and more seniors complain they are finding their age counts against them when looking for a job in the economic downturn.
"Age discrimination is an equal opportunity problem. Members of all races, genders industries or regions can be affected," said David Perecman, with over 30 years of experience handling employment discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace claims in New York.
An age discrimination lawsuit (Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-11732-DJC) was filed by the EEOC against Texas Roadhouse restaurants recently. The Texas Roadhouse represents 350 restaurants where it is said older applicants were rejected because of their age.
Laurie McCann, senior attorney for AARP tells us that the reason many people don’t file complaints is because age discrimination is very difficult to prove. Instead of waiting until you're laid off and filing a complaint, it may be better to protect yourself sooner, says McCann, and take preemptive measures.
What are these preemptive measures? McCann says, "Take advantage of any sort of training, especially in computer skills and technology. Make sure you're not getting behind. Maintain your professionalism, down to your dress and hairstyle." She also says getting feedback from a manager is important in a courtroom where an employer might have to explain why he or she fired someone who was given a good review. Lori Rassas, an attorney and author, reminds folks also that it’s age related factors that are important, so the saying a person has too much experience could be a clue to age discrimination.
Should you sue if you’re not hired for a job? Experts like Rassas say age discrimination is even more difficult to prove. “It’s harder to do,” she says, “It’s not worth it. “
Adrian Crawford, an employment partner at law firm Kingsley Napley, maintains,: "It is noteworthy that while age discrimination claims are still a long way behind sex discrimination, they are now catching up with disability claims and have overtaken race-related claims to be the third most frequent type of discrimination action.
"Everybody has an age so anyone can potentially formulate an age discrimination claim. This may explain why there are already so many claims even before we have felt the impact of the abolition of the default retirement age, which is likely to lead to a huge increase in age discrimination claims.
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