Dear Atty. Chris,

I have been trying to land a job for the past six months but I am always disqualified because I am already 50 years old. Is this really a thing? Can't 50-year-olds apply for work? Thank you.

Tata Bert

***

Dear Tata Bert,

To answer your query, there is an existing law called "Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act" that prohibits employers from discriminating their applicants because of age.

Section 5 of the Act states that:

(a) It shall be unlawful for an employer to:

(1) Print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, in any form of media, including the internet, any notice of advertisement relating to employment suggesting preferences, limitations, specifications, and discrimination based on age;

(2) Require the declaration of age or birth date during the application process;

(3) Decline any employment application because of the individual's age; xxx. (Underscoring supplied)

Relative thereto, the exemptions to the above-stated discriminatory acts are found under Section 6 of the said law, which provides that:

It shall not be unlawful for an employer to set age limitations in employment if:

(a) Age is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary in the normal operation of a particular business or where the differentiation is based on reasonable factors other than age;

(b) The intent is to observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system that is not intended to evade the purpose of this Act;