Fighting Age Discrimination In The Beauty Industry
The beauty industry is one place where being fixated on appearance won't surprise anyone. Another thing about the beauty industry is that a level of individualism is always encouraged. If you are skilled in beauty and you have been in the industry for a long time, it is likely that you will have developed your own style and refined taste. Getting turned down for a job that you are well qualified for in the beauty industry can sting even harder when you think it may have something to do with your age and time on the job. If you want to fight age discrimination in the beauty industry, here are some steps on getting started.
Take a look at the overall workforce
The first thing that you will need to tackle age discrimination is good proof. One of the best ways to get some proof is to get statistics on the company itself. For makeup and fashion companies, take note of the ages of the employees that are employed by the company. If the average age is below 40 with very few outliers, you may have an age discrimination case. This is especially so if you can find other applicants who were over 40 and turned down for a job at the company.
Figure out if older employees are phased out
One method of age discrimination is slowly getting rid of employees that are older. Older employees are sometimes fired or laid off, and within a few weeks, they're replaced with a younger employee. If this has happened more than one time at your place of business or potential place of hire, this is a case of age discrimination. You should document the exact dates and situations and take the claim to an attorney who can help you with the civil action case.
Document age-related comments
Comments that suggest a person cannot properly perform a job due to their age can count as age discrimination. Making off-hand comments about a person's inability to understand new beauty products or techniques is age discrimination and can harm the reputation of the person the comments are directed towards. If you have had coworkers and managers make comments about limitations due to your age, they are creating a culture of age discrimination within the company. Speaking with an age discrimination law attorney is the next best step to make sure that you do not receive reputation damage or possible risk of job opportunities due to discriminatory comments.