时差N小时 年龄歧视（在线收听）

The average life expectancy for Americans was 35 years when the country was founded, and has been rising steadily since then. As the workforce grew older, many Americans worked well into their 50s and 60s, usually retiring at age 65.

建国初期，美国人的平均寿命是35岁，从此人均寿命便稳步上升。随着劳动力年龄的增长，许多美国人在五六十岁时仍然投入工作，往往在65岁之后才退休。

By the 1960s, more and more people were able to continue working well beyond age 65. But these long-time employees became more expensive for employers to keep as they moved up the salary scale. Thousands of older workers and job seekers were victims of age discrimination.

到了19世纪60年代，越来越多的人到65岁时仍能干好工作。然而，由于薪金级别上调，长期雇员的工资越涨越高，雇主就负担不起了。因此数千名大龄工人和求职者便成为年龄歧视的受害者。

They were fired, forced to resign, passed over for promotions, and not hired simply because of their age. Reports of older workers being laid off just before their pension rights locked in, were common. Congress heard testimony from many victims of age discrimination, and recognized the need for a law to provide protection.

他们被解雇，强迫辞职，在职位升迁中遭受冷落，或者因为年龄干脆不被雇用。报道中经常出现这样的事件，老龄员工在养老金落实之际被临时解雇。国会听证过许多遭受年龄歧视的案例后，意识到了制定法律来保护老龄雇员的必要性。

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act was enacted on December 15th, 1967, stating that all employment decisions—hiring, firing, lay-offs, and changes in benefit packages—must have a legitimate basis, and nothing to do with age.

《雇员年龄歧视法》于1967年12月25日颁布，声明所有就业决策——雇佣，解雇，裁员以及福利计划的变更，都必须有法律依据，不得以年龄为原因。

The 1976 amendment to this Act raised the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70. A 1986 amendment eliminated mandatory retirement ages completely. The author of the 1986 amendment, Representative Claude Pepper, was 86 at that time, and it was signed into law by Ronald Reagan, who, at the age of 75, was the oldest man to have been President.

1976年的这条法令修正案规定将法定退休年龄从65岁提高到70岁。1986年的修正案则彻底取消了法定退休年龄。参与修订1986年修正案的议员克劳德·派帕尔当时也是86岁高龄；这条法案被罗纳德·里根签署形成法律，他于75岁时当选总统，成为美国历史上在位时年龄最大的总统。