Freedom from differential, discriminatory treatment in the workplace is essential to financial security. Yet in a recent survey, over 30 percent of older Coloradans report experiencing age discrimination at their place of employment. Taking a number of forms — from being pushed into early retirement to being refused interviews and promotions — the holistic impacts of age discrimination are steep: weakening our workplaces; hurting our economy; and endangering the financial well-being of the 78 percent of older Coloradans, and their families, who work to sustain daily living. 

Related: Actionable Aging Policy Agenda

While a base set of age discrimination laws exist, they have proven woefully inadequate. But this problem isn’t intractable. In Colorado, we can strengthen protections for older workers by updating state statute to: 

• Prohibit employers from asking age identifying information on job applications 
• Clarify and expand when age discrimination cases can be pursued 
• Ensure age discrimination statutes are in parity with discrimination protections for other protected demographics 

There’s a strong need to act right now. While older adults faced employment obstacles well before COVID-19, historical evidence suggests these challenges will only grow in size and scale as a result of our current economic downturn. By strengthening workplace protections for older adults, we’ll take an important step to ensure Colorado’s economy is a place where all can thrive, regardless of age.

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