International protection for the human rights of older people: History and future prospects

Abstract

In this chapter the authors seek to give gerontologists, lawyers and other interested practitioners in North America a better understanding of the global picture of ageism in the workplace as it relates to international and regional human rights agreements. The legal landscape regarding age discrimination is very different around the world. In many undeveloped countries age discrimination is unrecognized under local laws. Even in many developed countries, age-based employment policies, such as mandatory retirement, a maximum age limit for recruitment, and age-based workforce layoffs or redundancies are common and legal practices.