Federal Agencies on Aging

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an independent government agency, is charged with enforcing laws prohibiting job discrimination, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). There is a long history in the United States of discriminating against older workers (Graebner; Sandell), which ADEA is designed to address. Originally enacted in 1967, ADEA defined the covered ages to be forty to sixty-five; in 1978 coverage was extended to age seventy; and in 1986 the upper age limit was removed entirely. The last action legally eliminated mandatory retirement in the United States (except for select groups of employees). This was considered by advocates for elderly people to be a great civil rights victory equivalent to outlawing discrimination on the basis of race or gender.