Fewer Rhode Islanders are complaining of age discrimination in the workplace, the latest statistics show. Of the 375 total complaints filed with the state Commission for Human Rights in fiscal year 1999, 44 were for age discrimination. The commission is the state agency that enforces civil rights laws, including the Fair Employment Practices Act, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against individuals because of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, or country of origin.
In fiscal year 1998, of 482 total complaints, 81 were age related, according to the commission. And the statistics so far for the current fiscal year, 2000, indicate that the commission will likely receive the same number of age-related complaints this year as it did in fiscal year 1999, said Executive Director Gene L. Booth. He attributes the drop in complaints to better employers who are doing a better job of adhering to the state laws.
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”I don’t think Rhode Islanders are getting any younger,” Booth said. “But I think employers are understanding what their rights and responsibilities are under the law.”
Their responsibility is to treat young and old employees equally. The law, however, permits only employees age 40 or above to file complaints with the commission. Someone who believes his or her rights have been violated has 365 days from the date of the alleged infraction to file a complaint with the commission, Booth said.
Once a complaint is filed, the commission assigns an investigator to the case. He or she gathers evidence and makes a ruling on whether one of the state’s civil rights statutes has been violated.
From there, the commission may find that there is no probable cause for a violation, and dismiss the case. If it does find probable cause, the case proceeds into conciliation. If that fails, it goes to a public hearing. Depending on the case, the commission has a number of powers. It may award damages in the form of back pay or the next available job, for example.
When investigating age discrimination, the commission looks for direct evidence, such as conversations that took place between the superiors and the worker that might indicate the employer’s motivation for firing the employee. It also looks for patterns. If a 55-year-old has been fired and replaced by a younger worker, the commission will look to see if the company has done the same with other older workers. Each side builds a case. For example, the 55-year-old employee might cite his years of experience, good work reviews, and attendance record as evidence that he is a capable employee who is has been discriminated against because of his age, Booth said.
Frequently, the employer’s defense is that employee had not kept pace with the latest technology. If the employer makes that claim, however, “You have to prove that,” Booth said.
Age discrimination ranks behind violations such as physical disability, race, and sexual harassment in terms of the number of complaints the commission receives each year. That has been consistently so, Booth said. For example, in fiscal year 1997 there were a total of 449 complaints. Of those, 98 were for physical disability, 73 for race, 70 for sexual harassment, and 69 for age discrimination.
State age discrimination laws also apply to housing. Anyone age 18 or over may complain of being discriminated against because of his or her age. For example, it is illegal for landlords to say they will not rent to college students simply because of they perceive young people to be irresponsible. They must take the same steps to evaluate an 18-year-old as they would any other applicant, such as checking references and credit history, he said.
