Are Job Postings For “Digital Natives” Ageist?

When firms look for digital natives, they mean workers that have been raised on the language of digital technology. But Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination against people 40 and up. Ingrid Fredeen, attorney and vice president of NAVEX Global, told the Wall Street Journal that the term is “really challenging and problematic” because of its implication that “only young applicants need apply.” Hiring managers of a certain age in particular, with a pattern of hiring young people, may need to be concerned about whether a case could be built against them in court.