Ian Alfredo Magno IT is quite surprising we still could see ads in newspapers and publications showing employment opportunities, which conspicuously retain and display that usual age requirement. In fact, employers posting their job vacancies on bulletins also indicate the age limit, seemingly unaware that it is now considered illegal. Yes, and such illegal act could cost them as high as P500,000 or a two-year a imprisonment or both. Stunning, indeed. Among the recently crafted bills which lapsed into law during the year of the monkey was Republic Act 10911, otherwise known as the “Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act.”  The law aims to promote employment on the basis of abilities, knowledge, skills and qualifications rather than age. Thus, it prohibits arbitrary age limitations in employment. Moreover, it intends to promote the right of all employees and workers, regardless of age, to be treated equally in terms of compensation, benefits, promotion, training and other employment opportunities. RA 10911 is, in fact, in line with Section 3, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution, the first paragraph thereof states: “The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.” Who must toe the line? The following entities are enjoined to comply with this recent piece of legislation, namely: employers, labor contractors/sub-contractors, labor organizations and, lastly, publishers, which include the tri-media and Internet bloggers. Pursuant to Sections 5 of RA 10911, the following acts shall be prohibited, thus:
  1. It is unlawful for the employer to:
  • print, publish or advertise hiring announcements suggesting preferences based on age;
  • require the applicant to declare his age or birth date during the application process;
  • decline employment because of age;
  • discriminate currently employed personnel in terms of compensation, terms and conditions, or privileges of employment on account of age;
  • deny promotion or opportunity for training because of age;
  • forcibly lay off an employee because of old age;
  • impose early retirement on the basis such employee’s age
  1. It is unlawful for the Labor contractor /Sub-contractor to:
  • refuse referring an applicant for employment because of his/her age;
  • It is unlawful for a labor organization to:
  • refuse to admit an individual as member because of his/her age;
  • cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual because of age;
  1. It is unlawful for the publisher to:
  • print or publish any notice of employment opportunity or job vacancy which indicate a certain age preference or age ceiling
As a matter of exemption, pursuant to Section 6 of RA 10911, businesses or industries may require a specific age requirement when it is necessary to fulfill a bona fide occupational qualification; or when necessary to observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system. Such legislation may seem odd in the Philippines, where we have gotten used to job qualifications couched in phrases like “preferably not more than 29 years of age” or so. Truth is employment practices in the Philippines have a lot of catching up to do. In most developed States, age is no longer an issue for purposes of hiring. Such advanced countries logically put a high premium on experience, expertise and skill over age.  Hence, RA 10911 is one attempt to drag local employment practices out of Stone Age.   (Lawyer Ian Alfredo T. Magno is an associate at Atty. Francis U. Ku & Associates, and is deputy legal officer at Philhealth. E-mail: ianalfredom@gmail.com)