In 2015 nearly 90,000 discrimination charges were filed in the USA according to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. The Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act were intended to promote opportunities for all.

However as social media becomes more prevalent in the workforce and in hiring practices, it seems that some have discovered new ways to discriminate against candidates. Many hiring managers have required social media account information from job seekers, which not only is an invasion of privacy, but opens the door for an application to get tossed in the trash before it is ever considered.

Imagine you have filled out an application that asked for your age or date of birth and your social media account(s) information, presumably, the hiring manager wants to do a quick search to make sure you are not partaking in anything negative on your Facebook page that would harm the company reputation. Fair enough right?

Now imagine that you are a single mother or a young African American male and your profile picture as well as your biography gives a potential employer this information. You could be highly qualified, well-educated and a perfect fit for the job, but never get a call back because of your child or skin pigmentation.

What if you are an older person, someone who has been in the workforce for many years—you are educated and qualified, and you even took extra courses recently to brush up on computer skills. You have sent out so many resumes you have lost track, with nary a callback. Why? It is likely that the companies you are applying to are looking for younger candidates and that simple question of your date of birth is preventing you from finding gainful employment.

As hiring managers are rolling their eyes wondering how this piece is even relevant in today’s world, simply put, none of these scenarios are legal but they happen daily. According to the NY Daily News, the Broadway Show "Hamilton" is currently under fire for both race and age discrimination in its audition practices.

Many companies will attempt to hide or justify their bias by explaining that a certain position is suited for a specific type of individual. That’s great in theory, but it is still unethical and illegal. In fact, most companies aren’t even aware that they are discriminating against applicants.

Bias against any group of people is discrimination—no matter if a hiring manager feels that they are looking out for the companies' best interest, or the position is best filled by an individual that fits a specific race or age range.

Prohibited Practices must be avoided at all costs, and hiring considered on qualifications rather than individual differences to not only avoid lawsuits, but also to enrich the company with the experience of multiple generations and cultures.

Companies should be challenged to look beyond the application and outward motivation of these acts of discrimination and seek out ways to grow through the digital age. Candidates should be challenged to speak up against the bias they observe in hiring practices. If both parties can commit to even the slightest changes such as these, the world will benefit greatly.