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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.
建國初期，美國人的平均壽命是35歲，從此人均壽命便穩步上升。隨著勞動力年齡的增長，許多美國人在五六十歲時仍然投入工作，往往在65歲之后才退休。
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世紀60年代，越來越多的人到65歲時仍能干好工作。然而，由于薪金級別上調，長期雇員的工資越漲越高，雇主就負擔不起了。因此數千名大齡工人和求職者便成為年齡歧視的受害者。
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.
他們被解雇，強迫辭職，在職位升遷中遭受冷落，或者因為年齡干脆不被雇用。報道中經常出現這樣的事件，老齡員工在養老金落實之際被臨時解雇。國會聽證過許多遭受年齡歧視的案例后，意識到了制定法律來保護老齡雇員的必要性。
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.
《雇員年齡歧視法》于1967年12月25日頒布，聲明所有就業決策——雇傭，解雇，裁員以及福利計劃的變更，都必須有法律依據，不得以年齡為原因。
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年的這條法令修正案規定將法定退休年齡從65歲提高到70歲。1986年的修正案則徹底取消了法定退休年齡。參與修訂1986年修正案的議員克勞德·派帕爾當時也是86歲高齡；這條法案被羅納德·里根簽署形成法律，他于75歲時當選總統，成為美國歷史上在位時年齡最大的總統。
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