Bona-Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

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Age discrimination is a negative treatment or unfavorable attitude towards job applicant or employee based solely on his or her age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA, 1967) in US is a legislation which protects persons beyond their 40s against mistreatment. (Age Discrimination, n.a.) Employer who are obliged to follow ADEA legislation are those who has more than 20 employees and to be in an industry affecting commerce. The basic idea behind ADEA is to prevent social exclusion based on the age and to define when age discrimination is allowed. The latter one is surely more important because it explains exceptions from ADEA. One of the most important exception is Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) when the employer can prove …show more content…

One of the most known bona fide situation is airplane pilot mandatory retirement due to weakening mental capabilities. Airplane pilots have a special clause in their employment contract where they cannot compliant against retirement due to ageing. On the other hand, pilots are well compensated, and they do not suffer financial consequences. There are also dangerous occupations where individuals are early retired such as fireman, servicemen or astronauts. In these cases, discrimination is justified. They are well informed in advance and it is not an ad hoc decision but a planned and strategically calculated human resource politics. I should mention another example from my industry. Top management job positions are prone to age discrimination based on experience and abilities nevertheless, I feel reluctant having a younger supervisor hence I think this could be a reversed discrimination example. Senor job positions are reserved for those over 50 and younger can hardly apply even if they have enough experience and ability. According to ADEA this is not discrimination because it affects employee over 40. (Age Discrimination, …show more content…

Company culture was favoring those who were career oriented and always striving for more. Corporate cultures impose a certain discriminatory behavior which is not acceptable. A very good example of age disclination is when hiring and individuals are underscored due to their age. Employers usually not invite older people for an interview which is in that case not a discrimination because he or she was not even a candidate. So, it is hard to prove it was a discriminatory behavior. Another good example, when discrimination is not acceptable, is at jobs where in general terms, younger people are expected to work. I strongly believe that amateur middle age models are better than usual stereotypes. Rejecting a potential employee for his or her age just because it is unusual for the industry to hire older people is unacceptable. Personally, I enjoy seeing older stewardess, factory operator or sales rep. Older people revoke more confidence and are prone to behave more rationale in emergency or under

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