Issue - Limited Age Protection in Employment

Note: this issue has largely been corrected as a result of amendments made to B.C.'s Human Rights legislation effective January 1, 2008. The information below, outlines our concerns prior to those amendments.

Discrimination issues in employment do not magically begin at age 19 or end at age 64. Yet for workers under or over this range, protections against age discrimination do not exist in British Columbia’s human rights legislation.

Statistics indicate an aging population. By 2015, 11.5 % of B.C.’s labour force is expected to reach age 65. Discrimination against older workers already exists when age factors into decisions regarding promotions or training or in decisions regarding lay-off or downsizing. As more workers opt to work past age 65, our legislation should reflect this demographic by extending protection to those workers.

In 2004, youth between ages 15 and 19 represented 6.2% of B.C.’s labour force. As new entrants to the workforce, this group is vulnerable and often the target of negative practices and attitudes. Currently, workers under 19 have no protection or legal recourse from negative age-based employment practices.

Without wider age protections, clear practices of age discrimination such as forced retirement at age 65 or paying lower rates of pay to people because of their age, will continue to exist.

Did you know:

B.C. is one of four provinces (Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland are the others) that still utilizes an age range as a mechanism to restrict human rights protection in the area of employment. B.C. and Newfoundland are the most restrictive, with their range set at 19 to 64.

B.C. labour force statistics for 2004 indicate 1.7% (37,700 people) of the labour force is aged 64 and over; 136,600 people (6.2%) are youth aged 15 to 19. 254,300 people are expected to reach age 64 within ten years.

If B.C. wished to continue to allow for mandatory retirement, legislators could still lift the upper limit on our age range. An exemption clause could shield the practice of mandatory retirement, but lifting the upper limit would extend protection to those workers who remain in the workforce. Other provinces, namely Manitoba, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and the Yukon have opted for this solution. Alberta also has an open ended upper limit.

We could also remove the exemption clause from our legislation altogether. Employers who show that retirement at a set age is valid could still impose mandatory retirement whereas others could maintain policy, but apply it in a fashion flexible enough to accommodate those who wished to remain in their jobs

To extend protections to workers under 19, B.C. could look to Manitoba or New Brunswick where protection is provided based on statute defined age of majority. Young workers deserve the same human rights protections as are afforded to their older counterparts.

To learn more about this issue:

Policy on Discrimination against Older Persons because of Age

Ontario Human Rights Commission

Discrimination and Age - Human Rights Issues Facing Older Persons in Ontario

A discussion paper prepared by the Ontario Human Rights Commission to identify trends and critical issues related to age, and to make policy and related recommendations to promote the human rights of older persons.

National Advisory Council on Ageing