Community Chat

[MM13]

I've been filling out job applications online recently and one that I did today asked me to fill in my birthdate. I tried to skip that part in the form as I thought this was illegal, but it wouldn't let me proceed without doing that part.

I entered it in, but I'm not too thrilled about it. When did this become something they were allowed to ask?

[Bri369]

It's not illegal.  They cannot use your age to discriminate against hiring you. 

There may be a minimum age requirement.  That can be solved by asking if you are over age 18, for example.

[MM13]

@Bri369 

But how will I ever know if my age was the case then?

It started off by asking if I was over 16...and then later asked for my birthdate.

[Johnnyeager]

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects people 40 or older from being discriminated against in the workplace in favor of younger workers. The ADEA doesn't explicitly forbid asking a job applicant's age or birth date, but because such questions may indicate an intent to discriminate or discourage older workers from applying, they are closely scrutinized and can put employers at legal risk for age discrimination.

[Cakers3]

Sorry-typed before @Johnnyeager .

However, whether an employer wants somebody under the age of 40 or not really cannot be proven.

Even if the DOB is not requested, often employers will ask about dates of graduation. 

[MM13]

@Cakers3 

I remember years ago one well-known company asking me if I was over 18, and then later on asking if I was under 40. I was annoyed THEN. Today, to outright ask my exact birthdate, was very bold, I thought...

[Cakers3]

---

@MM13 wrote:

@Cakers3 

I remember years ago one well-known company asking me if I was over 18, and then later on asking if I was under 40. I was annoyed THEN. Today, to outright ask my exact birthdate, was very bold, I thought...

---

@MM13   18+ I can get behind since some jobs would not be suitable for young teens.

But outright asking your birthdate?  Not cool.

I was asked during an interview for teaching position many moons ago if I planned on having a baby in the future. 

To this day I don't know if the intent was religious or if it was to see how long I'd be around for the position.

Now that I look back, and I was hired, most of the teachers were middle-age with children half-grown.

(I also left after 2 years LOL)

[Johnnyeager]

Most legitimate employers are wise enough to not ask directly on an application. 

If they want to age discriminate they'll do it later once you're hired under the guise of performance review or something like that so it's more difficult to legally challenge. 

[Bri369]

---

@MM13 wrote:

@Bri369 

But how will I ever know if my age was the case then?

It started off by asking if I was over 16...and then later asked for my birthdate.

---

@MM13  I think it would be very hard to prove if age is a factor whether someone gets hired or doesn't get hired. 

If they have year of graduation, it wouldn't be  hard to figure out someone's age.  You would have to provide that for a background check. 

[lovesrecess]

Employers can usually figure out if you are over a certain age by looking at the resume'. If you have graduation dates or years you attended college, a job history timeline, etc. they can figure it out.