Subtle Discrimination

Blatant discrimination is deplorable, but it is easy to spot and usually easy to determine accountability. More ambiguous, and thus more dangerous to older workers, is subtle discrimination. This can take many forms, and by its nature it is probably more pervasive than most people realize. Some examples are as follows:

■A longtime employee’s supervisor makes comments in his or her presence about the benefits of retirement
■An employee whose company “restructures,” and who subsequently ends up with a smaller office down a little-used corridor
■An employee who gets passed over for promotions, always in favor of younger staffers
■A worker who is reassigned to a job with fewer responsibilities, even if the assignment is considered a lateral move
■An employee who is no longer sent on business trips, provided membership in profes-sional associations, or encouraged to take job-related courses
What makes subtle discrimination so much more dangerous than blatant discrimination in the minds of many experts is that it is harder to prove. Perhaps the supervisor is making comments about retirement because he or she is looking forward to being retired. Maybe the employee who was passed over for promotions has never asked to be promoted and thus is considered to be lacking in leadership initiative. Subtle forms of age discrimination may make older workers uncomfortable or unhappy enough that they will retire, even though they may not be able to pinpoint actual discrimination as their reason for leaving. The bottom line, however, is that subtle discrimination is no more acceptable in the workplace than blatant actions directed at older workers. Determining the difference between innocent remarks or coincidence and true discrimination may be difficult, but an older worker who suspects discrimination should know that taking action is a viable option.

The Bill of Rights, which is recognized as the first ten amendments to the Constitution, lists many rights of individuals. It is important to note here why the a bill of rights was not originally included in the Constitution. Most of the Framers felt that any power to infringe upon individual rights would not be legal under the Constitution, since the power to infringe was not granted to the United States by the Constitution. But the arguments of the people who supported a bill of rights eventually prevailed, and guarantees were added to the Constitution within a few years. It is also important to note that the Bill of Rights does not grant people the listed rights. The Bill of Rights simply guarantees that the government will not infringe upon those rights. It is assumed that the rights pre-exist. It is an important distinction

This amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the press, and protects the right of assembly.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

This amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms.

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed

This amendment guards against the forced quartering of troops. (In the years before the American Revolution, British officials forced the colonists to quarter—to house and feed—British troops.)

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law

This amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized

Fifth Amendment
This amendment guarantees a trial by jury and “due process of law,” and guards against double jeopardy (being charged twice for the same offense) and self-incrimination.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation

This amendment outlines the rights of the accused, including the right to have a "speedy and public" trial, the right to be informed of the charges made against him, the right to call witnesses in his defense, and the right to have an attorney in his defense.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

This amendment lays out the rules of common law.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law

This amendment protects against “cruel and unusual punishments.”

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted

This amendment ensures that the individual rights that are not enumerated in the Constitution are secure—that is, that these rights should not be automatically infringed upon because they are omitted from the Constitution.

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

This amendment limits the power of federal government by reserving for the states all powers that are not explicitly granted to the federal government by the Constitution, nor denied to the states. This amendment counterbalances Article VI, which invests the federal government with ultimate legislative authority.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

This amendment protects the rights of U.S. citizenship. It declares all persons born or naturalized in the United States to be citizens of their states and of the nation, and prohibits states from denying citizens due process and equal protection of the law.

The amendment also modifies the population count taken for the purposes of determining each state’s representation in the House of Representatives. Population count now includes all free males except Native Americans not taxed, thus negating the “three fifths clause” contained in Article I, Section 2, whereby slaves counted as 3/5 of a person. The amendment also provides for a penalty—a reduction in representation—for any state that denies or abridges suffrage to any free white male aged 21 or older who is otherwise eligible to vote (meaning he has not been convicted of any crime). [Note: This age limit was changed by the Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971.]

This amendment disqualifies anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against [the Constitution of the United States],” or has “given aid or comfort” to those who have rebelled against the Constitution, from holding any office of the United States, civil or military, or from serving in state government. Congress may, by a vote of 2/3 of each house, rescind this disqualification. [This clause disqualified high-ranking Confederate generals from serving in the U.S. government.]

Finally, this amendment declares the public debt of the United States to be valid and the debt of the Confederacy to be void. It declares that the United States will not grant compensation for the loss or emancipation of any slave.