Am I legally required to tell my employer my date of birth?
As background, I work for a big company and I am sure that HR has this information. But I was just asked for this data from my function’s admin support. When I asked her if I needed to give this out, I was told that a couple of higher ups, who both happen to be European, and possibly ignorant of US Labor Law, required it for some database. Neither of them is in HR, our HR branch is quite separate.
I am more than a little concerned that this sort of data could eventually be used against me in a quiet sort of age discrimination.
First, I’d advise you to ask an attorney. In general your employer shouldn’t be able to ask your age because the information is typically useless except for age discrimination purposes. (The closest it comes to usefulness is in figuring your insurance premiums, and firing you because your presmiums are too high is illegal discrimination.) However, there are about a million exceptions. In particular, the courts have been very wary about extending the protections of U.S. labor laws to foreign companies, even those operating on U.S. soil. (It’s not clear from your post if the company is foreign or merely the executives.) A trained labor lawyer who can discuss your case face to face is who you need to talk to.