They can ask to see if you’re too young. They simply can’t discriminate if you’re too old. Because young people can’t vote but old people vote religiously, so old people get the protections from lawmakers. But they can absolutely discriminate as long as they aren’t blatant about it, because proving it is virtually impossible.
Same way they aren’t allowed to discriminate based on marital status, but they can look to see if you’re wearing a ring during your interview. That one is particularly common in jobs that require a lot of travel; Interviewers will look for a ring, and almost never hire anyone who is married. Because if you have a family, you’re not going to last in the job as long as someone who is single with no local ties. Alternatively, an old tip for interviewing in office jobs is to wear a ring to the interview even if you’re single. Because an office position is more likely going to be looking for someone stable and needing to support a family.
Most companies won’t ask you for your age in an interview and it’s a giant red flag if they do. If you’re over 45 and they ask and you don’t get the job you may have a case (not that it’s likely to do you much good.)
-this is only relevant to the US!-
Also I do want to point out that in my experience dealing with hiring managers (especially when I was in HR) it wasn’t true that a ring would help you land a corporate job, unless you were a man. A ring wouldn’t make anyone hesitate to hire you for a travel job, if you were a man. The assumption being your wife would pick up the slack at home but if you were a married woman you’d be more likely to sacrifice career goals for a family (existing kids, or if you were young then you were likely to “start a family soon” regardless of if it were true.)
Also interviewers can ask about anything they can see in the background if youre doing a virtual interview. That picture behind you with your two young kids is now up for discussion. Many companies won’t let you ask “do you have kids” but if the picture of your family vacation is visible then I can ask about that because you displaying the image counts as your having “brought it up.” I cant ask about your political views but theres a copy of mein kampf behind you on the book case or BLM flag on the wall? Fair game. So be aware of whats behind you during interviews.
They can ask to see if you’re too young. They simply can’t discriminate if you’re too old. Because young people can’t vote but old people vote religiously, so old people get the protections from lawmakers. But they can absolutely discriminate as long as they aren’t blatant about it, because proving it is virtually impossible.
Same way they aren’t allowed to discriminate based on marital status, but they can look to see if you’re wearing a ring during your interview. That one is particularly common in jobs that require a lot of travel; Interviewers will look for a ring, and almost never hire anyone who is married. Because if you have a family, you’re not going to last in the job as long as someone who is single with no local ties. Alternatively, an old tip for interviewing in office jobs is to wear a ring to the interview even if you’re single. Because an office position is more likely going to be looking for someone stable and needing to support a family.
deleted by creator
Read the rest of the paragraph.
He isn’t too old. He’s overqualified.
Even blatant discrimination is almost impossible to prove.
Most companies won’t ask you for your age in an interview and it’s a giant red flag if they do. If you’re over 45 and they ask and you don’t get the job you may have a case (not that it’s likely to do you much good.) -this is only relevant to the US!-
Also I do want to point out that in my experience dealing with hiring managers (especially when I was in HR) it wasn’t true that a ring would help you land a corporate job, unless you were a man. A ring wouldn’t make anyone hesitate to hire you for a travel job, if you were a man. The assumption being your wife would pick up the slack at home but if you were a married woman you’d be more likely to sacrifice career goals for a family (existing kids, or if you were young then you were likely to “start a family soon” regardless of if it were true.)
Also interviewers can ask about anything they can see in the background if youre doing a virtual interview. That picture behind you with your two young kids is now up for discussion. Many companies won’t let you ask “do you have kids” but if the picture of your family vacation is visible then I can ask about that because you displaying the image counts as your having “brought it up.” I cant ask about your political views but theres a copy of mein kampf behind you on the book case or BLM flag on the wall? Fair game. So be aware of whats behind you during interviews.