Here in the Philippines, this kind of discrimination is pretty much obvious. Just by looking at job ads, you can immediately see employers everywhere specifying age qualifications. Even if they're still far from being senior citizens, older people are barred from applying for jobs that they may well be qualified for. You can easily find some ads indicating people 30 years and older to "need not apply." So what would become of those who are fairly young at 40 and above?

If you think age discrimination has been applied in your workplace, here are some things you can do:

Prove others wrong

As an older worker who is still employed, make an effort to eliminate stereotypes. Prove to them that seniors are still equally flexible and energetic if being compared to younger workers. Show that you are better than your colleagues, whatever age they may be. Take a few classes if it would help you to keep yourself valuable and stay ahead of the game.

Collect evidence

When you think you were denied a promotion or worse being laid off unfairly because of your age, you will normally need proof. The proof should contain statistics that show that the overall plan to lay people off be likely to affect workers over age 40 unreasonably. Gather documents that show you work at least evenly as other workforce on the job. Always keep a track record of performance evaluations and collect any facts that prove you were treated differently than equally paid workers.

Try internal means

Try expressing your concerns to your superior or the human resources department. Sometimes they might fail to realize their mistakes unless being confronted upon of the situation. You might just be able to fix the problem internally without involving any legal proceedings.

In case of layoffs, think things through carefully

It's easy to get mad and be vulnerable to anger if you suddenly get laid off. But the reason for lay-offs doesn't automatically mean that you were a victim of age discrimination or that you should engage in a legal solution. Think logically about whether you have solid proof that age played a role in your layoff.

In considering buyout offers, be cautious

In exchange for a buyout, an early retirement incentive offer or a severance pay, workers might be requested to give up their right to file age discrimination charges. Those types of waivers are oftentimes accompanied by agreements for you not to sue the company for rights that could have been lifted at that time.

You may want to seek advice from a lawyer if you think you were laid off because of age. Be sure that you have a justifiable claim before shunning the cash offered. You might miss out on your severance agreement, if you won't be able to win the court case. Either you win or loose more than you have spent on litigation.