[Opinion] A Controversy on Age Discrimination

Prohibition of age discrimination is making progress internationally and the European Union (EU) has prompted EU member countries’ legislation since they established a guiding principle regarding a ban on age discrimination in 2000. The U.S. is the first country to enact a law related to “prohibition of age discrimination.” According to the U.S. anti-age discrimination law of 1967, companies are prohibited from rejecting employment, discharging, and discriminating in relation to working conditions or welfare benefits by reason of age. The primary focus of this law is workers over 40 years old.

Until now, the most common lawsuits regarding age discrimination have been cases involving older men being discriminated against in favor of younger men. However, the recent controversy on this subject is reverse discrimination, or treating older men preferentially. Last month, U.S. Supreme Court announced the first decision related to reverse age discrimination. It involved instituting a suit against company for its decision to offer straight health insurance only to workers over 50 years old by consent of a labor union. Consequently, hundreds of workers in their forties excluded from the benefits were being subject to discrimination.

While the judge found that it was not age discrimination at nisi prius, the decision of age discrimination was delivered at a trial for an appeal case. The Supreme Court made the final decision as being “not age discrimination” and explained that age discrimination regulated by prohibition on age discrimination refers only to bans on giving a disadvantage due to old age, not prohibition of treating preferentially. Thus, they concluded that giving preferential treatment to a worker over 50 years old was not an instance of age discrimination.

In 2001, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea initially enacted age discrimination as a violation of the equality of human rights in our country. According to the law, discrimination in employment based on age entitles a worker to petition the National Human Rights Commission of Korea and becomes a basis of a lawsuit. Our country has complicated problems regarding age discrimination; deprivation of employment opportunities for the young generation in their 20s and 30s by restriction on employment age and poses a disadvantage to workers in their 40s by the principle of first discharge. Opportunities to respond to discrimination are scarce, such as lawsuits related to infringement of the Equal Rights, although such a phenomenon of age discrimination is all over our society.

Bae Keum-ja, a guest editorial writer & attorney baena@chol.com

15. Examination to Recruit Arabic Interpreters for the Korean Military

An examination to recruit Arabic interpreters for a Korean military unit to be sent to Iraq, was held at the Army Administration School, Gyeonggi, in the afternoon of March 6. About 40 people will be selected out of the 57 applicants. The results of the examination will be announced on March 20.