Robinson

Emmie (Tre) Robinson

Dr. Bamfo
PADM 7170
July 10, 010
!"a"ues a" #ar$e% A$e Dis&rimina"ion
Robinson
ADEA an' i"s De(elo)men"
With this paper one will approach this topic as stated in the term paper guidelines as topic
two. What is ADEA? ADEA stands for Age Discrimination Employment Act which started in
1967. Are there problems going on in the worforce that may deal with ADEA? !o answer this
"uestion yes there are problems in the worplace rather it is and older indi#idual or younger.
According to The Employment Effects of Wage Discrimination against Black Men $aldwin and
%ohnson state that $ecers &odel of employer discrimination predicts that pre'udiced employers
will hire more than the optimal number of ma'ority worers and less than the optimal number of
minority worers. !his is a ma'or problem. !he ADEA principles can be considered simple. !his
specific Act deals with our nation(s older citi)ens who may want to ha#e an occupation but may
be forced out of their 'ob because of their age and not their ability to do wor. E#en though one
uses older to describe what the ADEA tends to help* this Act can imply to a younger audience as
well. !his idea of ADEA can lead to the "uestion does this Act only matter for the older people?
!his specific idea will be presented throughout one(s paper. Another "uestion may come about
when dealing with Age Discrimination and Employment. As we discussed in class is the Act
worth sa#ing? Also in the class we ga#e reasons on why this Act may not be worth saying. An
e+ample that one remember is that does it matter if older people are woring? ,ne feels that it
truly does if that older citi)en has the desire to wor. !herefore* how does this Act become more
forced and looed at as a good Act? What one means is that does are nation really want to eep
fighting against older citi)ens that may be in there 7-(s about wor? .hould are nation continue
to try to help out older citi)ens and not may them "uit their 'ob because of their age? As
mentioned throughout this paper one will gi#e reasons on why ADEA should stay as a law. ,ne
will also show that how this Act should stay enforced and be taing more seriously since people
Robinson
are being discriminated against in the worplace and they are not speaing up and ways to
pre#ent this problem for people being discriminated at wor.
With this chart one can say that most of the discrimination that taes place along the worforce
has to deal with the older people. ,ne uses this chart as a reference to show that this law has to
be enforced more. /f not enforced* the more discrimination will occur in the worforce.
All of the laws throughout our constitution are suppose to benefit us no matter how old or
unimportant the law may seem to certain indi#iduals. !here is no denying that certain laws in our
constitution may not be as strong as others. ,ne feels that if a law or an Act such as the ADEA
has been put into our constitution* then why should this law lea#e? ,b#iously it came about for a
reason and citi)ens particularly older must feel differently then how people feel towards them.
0or e+ample1 let us put our own body in an older person. Would we want to wor when we
become a certain age lie 6- or 7-? /f we felt we had the full potential and ambition to wor
would we want to be forced out of wor? ,ne feels that if at this age if one had a steady 'ob that
Robinson
one endure that nothing would push me out of my 'ob rather it was my age or health. With this
law it protects the older people that may feel lie this as well.
Robinson
We as Americans must understand that laws are here on this earth for a purpose. ,ne can
say that there are laws at e#erything that we can do rather it is dealing with wor* school* your
household* any and e#erything that you can thin about there are laws. Without laws and
regulation we as Americans will li#e a life full of chaos. !he reason being is that who or what
guidelines will we go about? Who will tell us what is right are wrong? !o answer both "uestions
nobody would e#erything will be completely out of order. As we discussed in class America is
lie no other country. ,ne is pretty sure that many people from other countries will gi#e there
last to get here. We also discussed in class that 2hina may ha#e a better system then the 3nited
.tates. !he reason being is that they ha#e been doing things in their country for decades and it
still is doing well. !he reason our country can be seen as glorious can be because our country is
based on laws which gi#es it this type of endorsement or fame that it has. Why do laws come
into effect? &ost of our laws ha#e come to life because either people were feeling that they ha#e
been being misunderstood* or that the other laws may ha#e had too much power in pertaining to
other laws. 0or e+ample the 4atch Act came from the patronage situation. ,ne uses this e+ample
to show that certain laws can substitute as a fi+ or as another law period. !he 4atch Act is a law
that prohibits federal employees from certain acti#ities. When people tend to gain a lot of powers
ideas that they said there were going to implement either goes out the window or they actually
'ust say what the people may want to here. As we discussed in one of our lectures the idea that
Americans may want to hear maes us as a nation wants a certain 5resident or follow different
guidelines. ,ne 5resident 2andidate may say that they want to change the education system
which either educators or certain indi#iduals may agree on. Another 2andidate may feel that we
should not ha#e to pay ta+es and eep are money which people that mae money may agree on.
$asically what one feels is that when dealing with our nation as discussed in class we 'ust want
Robinson
to feel secured and happy. Also it can be argued that when an indi#idual gets power rather it is a
high position such as the 5resident or a 'ob promotion maing them the boss* they sometimes do
not now how to handle the pressure of that 'ob. !hey also may forget on what they promised or
said they were going to do and 'ust focus on themsel#es as well. According to The Expanding
Scope of Employment Discrimination Law 6uthergien e+tending the principle against
discrimination beyond its traditional 'ustification. /t can be looed as if there are numerous ways
to be discriminated against. ,ne can argue that the ADEA is responsible for other laws. ,ne can
also argue that this is not 'ust your typical law. As discussed in class the ADEA can be considered
a contentious law which one has already e+plained. We also must eep in mind why we
terminate people. 0rom our handout recei#e in class an employer must write se#eral documents
when trying to let someone go. !herefore* it can be argued that other important laws ha#e branch
off the ADEA which one will e+plain in other parts of the paper. !he Age Discrimination in
Employment Act ADEA can be considered an Act lie no other. !he reason being is because it
could be argued that the ADEA collaborated with other laws. /ts main purposes were to stop
older generation from being terminated or put out of an occupation because of their age. When
reading Debating the Use of Statistical Eidence in !llegations of !ge Discrimination Daniel
$arry and 5hillip % $oland ha#e mention that in most democratic countries it is illegal to
discriminate in employment with respect to #arious characteristics. ,ne uses this to show that
this is in important law. !his piece of information can be seen as helpful for the fact that this Act
is being enforced. ,ne will show how and why the ADEA is still needed when comparing older
Robinson
and younger worers7
Robinson
!his chart shows why Age Discrimination Employment Act is needed. E#en though one has not
applied a lot of cases to show this statics* you can still get the ratio on why this law should be in
effect. ,ne can also argue that this law will gi#e employees as myself and some of my peers a
chance to wor when we get of age if we choose to do so. With this law an indi#idual may not be
fired because of his or her age* their condition 8meaning if they were handicap and still was able
to do the 'ob they could eep it9* or simply be looed at for a position. !his is more reasons on
why this law is much needed and #ery helpful. %obs are not up for grabs if you reach a certain
age. /f you can do the 'ob properly why should you be fired for your age? As one has mentioned
earlier the law of ADEA can be argued to bring about new laws. An e+ample on how this can
wor would be the American Disability Act. As discussed in class the ADA too can be looed at
as a contentious law as well. 5eople could argue that what is the point of ha#ing a law to protect
the handicap. While others may feel they are citi)ens 'ust lie people that do not ha#e a
disability. !he purpose of the ADA is simple1 if handicap why can you not wor. A perfect
e+ample that one has used on a lot of papers since being in the program of 5ublic Administration
would be Wal:&art. ,ne can also say that both of these ideas can be said to tie together. 0or
e+ample1 one has witness first hand on how Wal:&art hires door greeters that may be challenge
mentally to wor for their organi)ation. !his is 'ust one way that this law has helped others
especially ones in special needs. When reading Statistical Eidence of Discrimination Da#id
;aye has mentioned that the fourteen amendment states that <o .tate shall deny to any person
within its 'urisdiction the e"ual protection of the laws. !his shows that the law of ADEA should
not go anywhere or be seen as a law that is not wea or should not be set in stone.
According to !ge Discrimination" Social #los$re and Employment numerous authors
ha#e stated that age discrimination has recei#ed mounting attention o#er the past two decades*
Robinson
and from #arious cross: cutting social science disciplines. /t is #ery critical for you to now what
the ADEA is defined as1 it has already been stated that this Act prohibits any idea of age
discrimination but there is more to this. After one has done research on this law* one has come to
the reali)ation that this law prohibits discrimination in layoffs* hiring* wages* and dealing with
promotions. !his law does not ha#e to only be for older people.
/t can be argued that younger people can benefit from the ADEA for the fact that it is 'ust
not for people in age. As one has mentioned this law will protect us when we get into our careers
and when we get older. ,ne ma'or fact about this law is that it prohibits any type of denial in
benefits to older employers. $asically what this is saying that if your able to wor under
conditions and if you are doing well in your occupation you are still able to recei#e benefits
without going through any e+treme measures to get them. E#en though this sounds repetiti#e* it
needs to continue to be mentioned throughout this paper. !his would ha#e not happen not too
long ago. ,ne can argue that if an older citi)en can set their own pace at retiring that they can
loo bac at their 'ob and say they en'oyed their time woring it. As already stated one should
also state that this act is not 'ust for older indi#iduals but young ones as well. /t is ob#ious that
discrimination still goes on in the worplace. As we discussed in class people may not lie
certain things that another person has. !hey may thin that they are trying to show their wealth
or that they are better then someone. 0or e+ample1 when we taled about this / was used as an
e+ample with my polo hat. After that lecture one can truly see that discrimination can happen in
any type of e#ent rather it is something ma'or or minor. When dealing with the ADEA the more
people start to admit that they are being mistreated use this law the more go#ernment will see
that it is needed. <ow that one has ga#e you an idea of what the ADEA is about and what its
purposes was* one will now go into debt on this law.
Robinson
When this law was de#eloped it can be argued on what or why it happened. ,ne can say
that the Age Discrimination Employment Act was de#eloped because of what has happen
throughout our nation(s history. ,ne main reason that this law could ha#e came about could be
because our nation maybe wanted to try to stop discrimination. !his law can be stated to bring
about more ideas and laws to the constitution. !he ADEA can be stated to bring about more 'obs
and can let older people wor until they feel they may not be able to wor. With times being not
so good for Americans finding a 'ob can be pretty difficult due to the economy and
unemployment. ,ne will eep elaborating on how the Age Discrimination Employment Act will
help out my generation and the generation under mind.
,ne has founded se#eral court cases on Age Discrimination and Employment Act that
one will has put in this research paper. ,ne will also mae sure that he states that these are brief
synopsis that one has "uoted from case. /n the .upreme 2ourt *ase #orillar' (. Pons +,+ -.!.
.7. (1/70). A description of this case is the plaintiff sued her employer* claiming that she had
been discharged on account of her age. !his case is a perfect e+ample on why we need to eep
the ADEA system. !he 5laintiff specifically re"uested a 'ury trial* which the district court did not
allow. ,n interlocutory appeal the 0ourth 2ircuit re#ersed. !he .upreme 2ourt too the case on
appeal to mae a clear statement on the issue of whether a 'ury trial is due a plaintiff in pri#ate
actions brought under the ADEA. !he .upreme 2ourt outlined in its opinion the ADEA(s
pro#isions for enforcing an age discrimination claim. !he ADEA states that #iolations of that Act
are to be generally treated as #iolations of the 0air =abor .tandards Act. 3nder that Act the
.ecretary of =abor may bring suit on behalf of an aggrie#ed indi#idual for in'uncti#e and
monetary relief. !he ADEA* following the 0=.A* also allows pri#ate ci#il actions to be brought*
pro#ided the aggrie#ed indi#idual first gi#es notice to the .ecretary of =abor of her intention to
Robinson
sue so that the .ecretary can attempt to eliminate the alleged unlawful practice through informal
methods. After allowing the .ecretary 6- days to conciliate the alleged unlawful practice* the
indi#idual may sue. !hat right is e+tinguished if the .ecretary commences an action on her
behalf. !he 2ourt noted that* when 2ongress incorporates sections of an old law into a new law*
the 2ourts will presume that 2ongress was aware of the administrati#e and 'udicial
interpretations of that section and desired to adopt those interpretations when it reenacted the
statute without change. !he 2ourt went on to note that the presumption is particularly
appropriate here since* in enacting the ADEA* 2ongress e+hibited a detailed nowledge of the
0=.A pro#isions and their 'udicial interpretations* as well as a willingness to depart from those
pro#isions regarded as undesirable for incorporation. !he 2ourt noted that* long before 2ongress
enacted the ADEA* it was well established that there was a right to a 'ury trial in pri#ate actions
pursuant to the 0=.A. !his right* coupled with the presumption discussed abo#e* led the 2ourt to
hold that plaintiffs in a pri#ate ci#il action under the ADEA are entitled to a trial by 'ury if they
so desire. /n so holding* the 2ourt affirmed the 'udgment of the 0ourth 2ircuit.
Another case that one has detected is 1s&ar Mayer an' *o. (. E(ans, +11 -.!. 7.0
(1/7/) states a man who alleged that ,scar &ayer forced him to retire after >? years of ser#ice
because of his age. !he issue presented in this case is whether an age discrimination claim must
be brought first with the state authorities before it can be brought in 0ederal 2ourt. !he 5laintiff
in this case filed* with the 3nited .tates Department of =abor* a notice of intent to sue the
company under the ADEA. !he 5laintiff ased the Department at the time he filed notice
whether he was re"uired to file a state complaint in order to preser#e his federal rights. !he
Department told him that he was not re"uired to do so. E#ans allowed the /owa statute of
limitations to run on his age discrimination claim. After conciliation efforts failed* the 5laintiff
Robinson
brought suit in 0ederal 2ourt. ,scar &ayer mo#ed to dismiss the claim on grounds that the
ADEA re"uires resort to the a#ailable state remedies prior to the commencement of a federal
suit. !he District 2ourt denied the motion* and the Eighth 2ircuit affirmed. !he federal courts
those discrimination complaints that might be settled to the satisfaction of the grie#ant in state
proceedings. !he 2ourt* therefore* held that resort to state proceedings is re"uired under the
ADEA. !he 2ourt* howe#er* found nothing in the ADEA which mandates that a claimant comply
with state limitations periods as a prere"uisite to filing in federal court. /ndeed* the .upreme
2ourt held that the language in the ADEA re"uiring that a state action be commenced 6- days
before federal litigation is instituted implies that 2ongress meant state limitations periods to be
irrele#ant. 0urthermore* the ADEA says that* if a state imposes re"uirements other than the filing
of a written and signed statement of the facts upon which the claim is to be based* then the
proceedings shall be deemed to ha#e been commenced for purposes of the ADEA at the time
such a statement is sent by registered mail to the appropriate state authority. !he .upreme 2ourt
in E#ans re#ersed the Eighth 2ircuit and remanded the case to the district court with instructions
to hold the 5laintiff(s suit in abeyance until he complied with the mandate of the ADEA by
sending his statement of facts to the proper state agency.
,ne has also found another court case that he has too place and cited on his wor page
as well. According to document case 1*onnor (. *onsoli'a"e' *oin *a"erers, .17 -.!. ,00
1//2) in this case at age @6* ,(2onnor was fired and replaced by a A-:year:old. 4e filed a
lawsuit in federal district court. !he court granted the Defendant(s motion for summary
'udgment* and the 5laintiff appealed. !he 0ourth 2ircuit affirmed based on its own rule that a
plaintiff can only mae out a prima facie case under the &cDonnell Douglas framewor if she
can pro#e that she was replaced by someone outside the protected class of persons forty years of
Robinson
age and older. !he .upreme 2ourt too this case from the 0ourth 2ircuit to mae clear that
pro#ing that a plaintiff was replaced by someone younger than A- is not a re"uirement of maing
out a prima facie case of discrimination under the &cDonnell Douglas test. /n so holding* the
.upreme 2ourt made se#eral statements which redefined the parameters of the prima facie case.
!he 2ourt said that under the test there must be a logical connection between each element of the
prima facie case and the illegal discrimination. !he 2ourt found no such connection in the
re"uirement imposed by the 0ourth 2ircuit. !he 2ourt held that to re"uire a plaintiff to show that
the person hired in his stead was outside the protected class would create a situation which the
ADEA did not intend. /ndeed* it would create a situation where it would be acceptable to
discriminate on the basis of age so long as the employee fired was replaced by a person age A- or
older. !he 2ourt went on to say that some courts had been possibly induced to adopt the abo#e:
mentioned re"uirement in order to a#oid creating a prima facie case on the basis of #ery thin
e#idence1 such as where a 6B:year:old had been replaced by a 6@:year:old. !he 2ourt said that in
its #iew* howe#er* the proper solution to the problem lies* not in maing an irrele#ant factor an
element of the prima facie case* but rather in recogni)ing that the prima facie case re"uires
e#idence ade"uate to create an inference that an employment decision was based on an illegal
discriminatory criterion. !he .upreme 2ourt in ,(2onnor remanded the case bac to the 0ourth
2ircuit for proceedings consistent with its opinion. ,ne has chose these three court cases to show
how this is a big deal to certain indi#iduals who may lo#e what they do in their wor. $y doing
this* the problem of discrimination at wor may be sol#ed if told.
/t can be seen now that one has ga#e court cases on the ADEA that this act brings 'ustice
to people that ha#e been discriminated against at wor. As discussed in the lecture we all ha#e
been or seen some type of discrimination rather it was the indi#idual being discriminated or the
Robinson
indi#idual doing the discriminated. ,ne can argue that people of the same group may not
discriminate against each other. !his is not true. ,ur society maes us as Americans belief ideas
about how things should be. 0or e+ample1 if the media feels that all African Americans should be
Democrats if and African American is a 6epublican it may be looed at differently. /t can be
argued that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was designed to stop this barrier between
these issues. !he worplace can be seen by many people as a place they go daily to relie#e stress
and to ha#e a good time. /t use to be that when reaching a certain age in your occupation that the
employer could fire you because they may feel that your too old to still wor for the
organi)ation. <ow you cannot be fired because of age.
34y is "4is (ADEA) im)or"an"5
!he Age Discrimination in Employment Act has changed America. As one has presented
in this term paper shows why this Act has done nothing but wonders and 'ustice for certain
Americans who may ha#e been discriminated against in the worplace. E#en though ADEA can
be seen to some indi#iduals as a law or Act that should not be admitted* one tends to differ. ,ne
does not belief that it is the best law that has e#er come into recognition* but as mentioned it does
'ustice when needed. !he reason that one means by 'ustice is that people are able to eep their
'ob and do their tas at wor and not ha#e to worry about someone taing their position because
of their age. /t can be argued that the generation we li#e in right now that older people are li#ing
longer then in the past and with all the medicine out in the world people are li#ing longer. !he
main reason one feels this law is a great one is that when dealing with older people their idea of
retirement can come at their own pace instead of being influenced by a younger worer. /n one(s
chart that was used in the paper the older a person gets in age the harder for them to get a 'ob.
!he way it has been helpful is that all type of people can be able to get hired if they ha#e legit
Robinson
sources to bac them up. !rue enough there are still some type of discrimination going on in the
worforce but it has either not been brought to attention or #ery rare. !herefore* after learning
ob'ecti#es and ideas from this class along with doing research on ADEA one can honestly say
that this Act was #ery great for Americans. ,ne feels that the public and organi)ations ha#e
gained a hire respect for the wor purposes. What one means is that people are starting to enforce
this idea and mae it stricter to worplaces. !he reason being is that e#erybody has some type of
benefit from this Act. !he main idea or reason that this Act should stay in play is for the fact that
people of color and people who may be older an age can still do their 'ob and not worrying about
getting fired because of their age or color. !he ADEA not only has it done wonders for our
country* it has brought other laws into play as well maing this law one of 'ustice. ,ne can
honestly say that law will benefit one as one gets older. ,ne will not ha#e to worry about being
discriminated against and will en'oy wor. !herefore* if not for the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act we as Americans may not be able to gi#e our full efforts in our 'ob for the fact
that we may be terminated because of our age. !hese reasons are why one feels this Act is worth
sa#ing and should be more enforced.
Robinson
Wor 2ited
$arrett* 5. 1996. C.upreme 2ourt e+pands scope of law on Age Discrimination in Employment.D
Wall Street %o$rnal 8April9 : Eastern Edition* p. $>. 6etrie#ed from Academic .earch
2omplete database
$aldwin* =. &ar'orie %ohnson* E. William. 1996. C!he Employment Effects of Wage
Discrimination against $lac &en.D &nd$strial and Labor 'elations 'eiew 8%anuary9
?->:?16
$arry* Daniel $oland* %. 5hillip. 8>--A9 CDebating the 3se of .tatistical E#idence in Allegations
of Age Discrimination.D The !merican Statistician 8&ay9 1->:1-9
$ryon* 6eginald &ong* .herry 6oscingo %. Fincent !ester* Eriff. >--7 CAge Discrimination*
.ocial 2losure and Employment.D Social (orces 8.eptember9 ?1?:??A
;aye* Da#id. 19B> C.tatistical E#idence of Discrimination.D %ournal of the American .tatistical
Association 8December9 77?:7B?
Eoldman* 6oss $. >--7. C5utting 5rete+t in 2onte+t7 Employment Discrimination* the .ame:
Actor /nference* and the 5roper 6oles of %udges and %uries.D )irginia Law 'eiew 9?76
8,ctober97 1@??:1@71. 6etrie#ed from Academic .earch 2omplete database.
Robinson
6uthergien* Eeorge. 199@. C!he E+panding .cope of Employment Discrimination =aw.D The
%o$rnal of Legal St$dies 8%une9 A91:@>1
Goung* 6. 197B. C%ury !rial 3pheld in Age Discrimination 2ase.D !merican Bar !ssociation
%o$rnal 6A7A 8April97 6-A. 6etrie#ed from Academic .earch 2omplete database.
www.agerights.comHcasesHussupremecourtHgreen.html .upreme 2ourt 2ases
www.dol.go#HdolHtopicHdiscrimination 3nited .tates Department of =abor
www.neon.org.n)Hnewsarchi#eHows>--6statsH 0irst Eraph 2hart
H