As an employee, you may be aware that age discrimination by employers is not allowed. Does this mean that an employer can never tell you that you are too old for the job — or are there instances where it may be permitted?
The short answer is that while age discrimination is illegal in most cases, there are times when an employer would be justified in telling you that your age rules you out of applying for a particular job.
Age is considered a safety factor in some jobs
As a person gets older, their body becomes less adept at doing certain things that may be crucial to some jobs. Hence, some industries enforce age limits above which they will not accept applications because being unable to perform at the required level could be a safety issue.
For example, if you wish to apply to become a firefighter in New York, you “should not reach your 29th birthday by the beginning of the application process,” according to the FDNY. There are limited exceptions.
This is not to say that the law assumes people will be too weak or slow to work as firefighters once they pass 29. Rather, it takes into account that it takes a long time and a considerable amount of taxpayers’ money to train a firefighter. This low maximum age is set partly for safety reasons and partly to get a decent return on the investment in candidates, i.e., that they should still be physically capable of performing the job for many years to come.
That is just one example where turning a candidate down for being “too old” is legal. For most jobs, it is not allowed. Anyone who thinks they were discriminated against because of their age may want to get legal guidance.