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The Age Discrimination On Employment Act Of 1967

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The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was established to provide fairness in the workplace for citizens over the age of 40. This law was intended to guard against employers using unscrupulous hiring practices and unfairly firing individuals without legitimate reasons. The Civil Rights Act was updated to fight discrimination based on sex, race, and religion, but never addressed the issue of age. Age related concerns arose during the 1960’s when the economy began to change rapidly in technology and scope. Many experienced professionals were being displaced or simply discriminated against, because it was believed that it was cheaper to hire and train inexperienced employees, or because it would save on pension expense that was due to personnel approaching retirement age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 provides security for older employees that have the competency to do work but are held in prejudice, because they are advancing in years. According to the West 's Encyclopedia of American Law (2005), before the enactment of the Employment Act of 1967, it was a standard practice to fire a senior employee in order to give a promotion to a younger staff member. This practice supposedly saved the company money, because the wages of the newly promoted person were lower compared to the previous staff. In addition, this behavior promoted the idea within the business that the manager does not need any substantial justification to let staff members go. The

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