In late 2015 (maybe early 2016), I was interviewed by the engineering manager of a 20-to-50-person tech company for a iOS engineer role in Hong Kong. I answered all tech questions well. But when I heard his last question, I knew I would not get this job. The last question is "how old are you?". I hesitated but still told him "35". He did not say anything. I know it is illegal in the US. But I was not in the US.
Only slightly related...well OT as heck: VP of Sales at a tech company in San Jose was interviewing me for a field technical management job. The final question he asked was "Do you play golf?" I answered truthfully "No" and thought to myself, that is illegal as hell but it looks like I'm not getting the job. He replied "Learn!".
Under US labor law, facially non-discriminatory policies can be the basis of a discrimination suit if they have a disparate impact on protected classes. If there is a disparate impact, the employer must show a valid business reason for the requirement.
That's the rub about the seemingly innocent golf question. What if someone has a physical handicap that prevents them from playing golf but in no way affects their ability to perform the duties of the job they are interviewing for?
Many startups are exempt from even that. The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to companies with 20 or more employees. Some states have stricter rules (5 employees or more for the California Fair Employment and Housing Act).
Companies here are so litigation-averse that they’d never fire someone outright for being too old. They have an entire department (HR) to help build a solid, believable paper trail for firing them for “performance issues”.
> The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment.
Are you maybe referring to a different federal law?
Granted, but put quite simply, I have residency in HK but still need a visa to visit mainland China.
Also the capital controls are entirely different. It's naive to say they are the same country when they are demonstrably different in terms of culture and laws - despite their many similarities.
Yes it's already a part of China. However like Taiwan, the culture is different. While HK shares a lot of traits with the mainland, it's culturally still closer to the West. That said things change over time.
