Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act - Everything you Need to Know

Just recently, the K to 12 programs has been implemented in the curriculum of the Basic Education. The K to 12 programs allow children who just graduated Senior High School (SHS) to apply for jobs, given that they are in the right age.

However, back on the 21st of July 2016, Republic Act No. 10911 or more known as the Anti-age Discrimination In Employment Act, has been signed into law. This law, based on its name, mandates the eradication of the discrimination of the age by employers, subcontractors, and labor contractors.

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As per the provision, this act aims to promote equal and fair work opportunities for everyone by forbidding age limitations in hiring staff and employees. This goes hand-in-hand in the retirement and dismissal of employees in the same sense.

So what does the anti-age discrimination in employment prohibit?

According to the document, Republic Act No. 10911 or the anti-age discrimination in employment act prohibits the following from employers to their employees and staff members:

1. Printing, publishing, or any form of broadcasting any type of advertisement that relates to employment that is suggesting age preferences;
2. Requiring applicants to disclose and share his or her date of birth (DOB); and
3. Disapproving and/or declining employment applications because of an applicant's age.
4. Labor and employment organizations also prohibit denying memberships of some sort for age-related reasons.

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Are there other benefits of this anti-age discrimination in employment act?

In addition to these, the anti-age discrimination in employment also prohibits employees and employers to discriminate fellow employees in terms of work and term conditions, privileges, promotion and training opportunities, compensation, and most importantly, age.

Employers, on the other hand, are proscribed in laying an employee off or imposing early retirement cases because of age.

All the act wants is for an employee to have fair and equal rights. It wishes not to have discrimination on the age of people specifically employees.

The Labor Code of the Philippines

As per the Labor Code, any employee that may be retired when he or she reaches the retirement age established in the collective bargaining agreement or another applicable contract. Should there be no such thing, an employee can retire at the optional retirement age of sixty (60) years old. Given the fact, of course, that the age is not more than 65 years old.

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For underground mine workers, however, it's for fifty (50) years old

Are there exemptions of this law?

To give you an idea, this new law also explains that there are certain exceptions and allowances in some settings and scenarios. In that regard, here are some exceptions to the law:

1. When the purpose of the act is not to evade and avoid the law; when the purpose is to observe and look at the terms of a bona fide seniority system; or a certain employee retirement plan which is, of course, in line with the labor laws of the country;
2. When age is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) necessary in the normal operations of a certain business or where the differentiation depends on reasonable factors besides age; and
3. If and when the action is authorized and certified by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in conjunction with the anti-age discrimination in employment act. 

What penalties are involved if a certain business gets caught not abiding?

Since the implementation of this act, the penalties that are involved range from P50,000.00 to P500,000.00 and/or imprisonment of a minimum of three (3) months to two (2) years.

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Although the official implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Act is yet to be crafted, those were the initial implemented penalties to employers, contractors, and subcontractors who will be caught not following the act.

What do you think about the anti-age discrimination in employment act? Would this be beneficial in terms of aligning and straightening the labor laws and opportunities in the country?

The government and the whole of the country do hope that this is going to have drastic positive changes in the employment of the Filipino people.