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Maybe you should contact them and ask why there is an age requirement before you do anything else. ^^

there could be a legitimate reason they have a minimum of 25. have you contacted them about it and asked why this is their policy? if not, filing age discrimination right off the bat really seems like jumping the gun. plus i somehow doubt that would endear you very much to them. like at all.

Honestly, some businesses just have age limits for hiring people. It's just part of the job world. Personally, I wouldn't file a case against them. You're only a few years shy of 25 so I'm afraid it would only hurt your chances of getting a job there later on. That's just my input.

They'd really appreciate you filing a case against them. (Not.)

Anyway! Just wait until you're old enough to apply and if you still want a job there, go for it. Age requirements aren't all that rare, and I don't think this is a case of age discrimination. As some people already suggested, I'd call and ask them about this policy. It's the best way to find out why they're only hiring people who're 25+.

I wouldn't consider this age discrimination at all. If the company is requesting someone 25+ there is probably a valid reason, and I don't understand why your first thought would be "lawsuit" instead of contacting them personally and asking about the policy. Maybe because you're working with animals the insurance company won't cover anyone under that age, or it could be that they've had repeated issues with employees who are younger than 25.

If you think you might enjoy working there, or any other related facility in the future, I would strongly recommend showing them how mature you can be by talking things out and not jumping to conclusions and trying to sue them.

Thanks for your input! :) I will contact them to see why the requirement is up.

If you read my post I don't mention anything about a "lawsuit"....

that's a bummer. rather than going off individual merit, capabilities or experience, they require a certain age. yeah. that's age discrimination. there is no valid reason, lol, as no one drastically changes (in a "normal" sense) physically or mentally from eighteen to twenty five. however dealing with the court (edit: or what ever you were going for!!) is not worth it and you will not likely benefit from it since they are skewed. i think (and by think i mean you may want to check on this) i recall reading somewhere that employers are not allowed to ask certain questions due to equal employment laws (eg. exact age) so you could always say that the question is too personal and you aren't obligated to answer although you can assure them it does not affect your duties (or some such nonsense).

Thanks for your reply! :) I think that added some insight to it. Yeah, I can't see why they would add that...

, I think you meant to ping instead of me ;)

But, since I'm here and all...

I agree, you should contact them and ask why they have the age limit, if they have just had bad experiences maybe you could ask if they would consider giving someone younger a trial run or if they would be willing to go over your application

This probably isn't an age discrimination in the way you feel it is. The unfortunate thing is, age does play a part in the job market, and while there are laws against age discrimination, employers still have the right to require certain age requirements be met depending on their needs. The first thing that comes to mind is licensing, insurances, and just plain legal requirements. It's not unusual to see 19+ or 21+ in drinking establishments that play to a non-child environment. Sometimes a person MUST meet a minimum age for the employer to legitimately be able to provide them work, so they don't get in trouble.

I'd call and ask the details really. They could have a real good reason for it that you have no idea even exists until you come across it.

Filing a complaint, lawsuit, whatever you were thinking of. My apologies if you had no intentions on taking it to that extreme. My point was simply that just because a company requests a demographic that you don't belong to, doesn't mean they're doing anything wrong. Do you know how many people are employed there? The age discrimination law only applies to businesses with more than 20 employees. Any less than that and they are free to request any age they see fit. Hopefully if you take the advice presented to you in this thread and speak to them, you'll have luck with your job search.

I can't really help on the law front because I don't live in America and only know about British employment law, but if you ask them, you might find that the age limit is only there because they don't think that someone below that age would have the relevant qualifications. If you were to contact them to explain to them that although you're only 21, you have a large amount of relevant experience, they may consider you anyway. I'd definitely contact them first before looking into any kind of complaint :) Good luck!

I'm being pedantic here, but technicially not right. Neural development of our higher cognitive processes doesn't finish completing until our mid twenties, so technically we do change from late teens to early adulthood.

^My first thought to be quit honest. Even if its just a personal policy and not connected to insurance issues at all, putting down certain requirements is absolutely legit in my eyes. Its their company and their money, so they should be allowed to pick whoever they think is necessary for this position. While there are legit reasons to feel discriminated, this ain't one of them. Everyone from a certain age is getting the same chance. Of course it sucks for you to not fall into this category, but its not completely unreasonable to say people from a certain age are more mature. I'm pretty sure we all know there are exceptions, but in most cases there indeed is a difference between 21 and 25. And while you might be very experienced with the work in request, this idea of "lets complain till i get my will" is not exactly mature in my eyes. Understandable, but i'm pretty sure something you would have thought about differently if you were older.

However, i agree with.. almost everyone - ask why. If its just a personal policy from this certain shelter ask if you could still apply. If they get the feeling you are experienced enough, they might offer you a different job. I know many companies offer jobs with a chance of promotion as soon as you worked there for a certain time OR if you hit a certain age. If you know you have skills, go ahead and try it. If you are suitable for this position, they'll try keep you, even if its over a different job.

EDIT: LOL Being blocked. What did i say about being mature? Oh well.. i feel almost blessed now. xD

which is why i put we do not drastically change versus change, hah

Getting all up in the shelter's grills about their age policy (going to court, filing a discrimination report, whatever) is going to put the shelter at risk, and therefore the animals will be put in jeopardy of being euthanized if the shelter goes under. Not really in the spirit of things if you are in it for helping the animals.

Best bet is to call and politely ask about their policy. : ) Don't file anything against them. Besides, they have their age policy clearly stated and out in the open; they aren't hiding anything or secretly 'discriminating', to stick with your usage of the word.

That is entirely inaccurate. People can and frequently DO change drastically between those ages. Many people go to college between those years. You don't think that getting an entire 4 years of higher education can change someone mentally?

they can change. but not drastically.

Can you please lock this thread? I feel like it's getting way too much on the side of personal implications and harassment reasons.

Did you ever ring and find out about why the rule was implemented? I'd like to know personally. As an admin myself, I am kind of interested to see why a company would only employ people of that age bracket onwards. I'm 20 and working full time in the most perfect company with good pay. They don't seem to care too much about my age.