by M Dee Dubroff

Created on: February 17, 2007   Last Updated: August 27, 2010

Age discrimination is just as ugly as any other form of prejudice, bruising the human soul and spirit. It reaps its damage in its own quiet way, except that lately, response to age discrimination hasn't been quite so quiet. Baby boomers are reacting to it like the women of the 1970s who burned their bras and roared for the right to have rights. As more and more baby boomers enter the job market, many are finding the voice of protest, and backed by the law, they are losing no time in fighting back against the bad guys.

Some of this may concern the age of civil rights, whose promising shadow enveloped the dreams of most baby boomers (myself included). The number of age-bias complaints filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) increases with each passing year, and most of the workers filing charges are between the ages of 40 to 59. The chairwoman of the EEOC, Cari Dominquez, says, "baby boomers believe they helped develop the values of our society, which prohibits discrimination. They are very comfortable in asserting their rights."

Boomers have a right to be unhappy. Company layoffs are still continuing at an alarming rate due to a sluggish economy. According to Dominguez, "the age-bias claims go up when opportunities go down." The first thing that companies cut when the economy plunges are the higher paid jobs, many of which are held and have been hard-earned by older workers. It is the unspoken prejudice that asserts older workers will be less productive, unwilling to learn and too expensive to keep on the payroll.

If you feel you have been a victim of age-bias discrimination, fight back. Such action is the stuff that has made our country what it is: the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Have YOU experienced age bias?

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