July 27, 2019
According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, it is illegal for employers to treat workers unfairly due to their age – the cut off starts at 40 years and older. This law applies to private companies with 20 or more employees. It states that employers cannot discriminate based on age with respect to hiring, firing, promotions, layoffs, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and/or training.
Let’s look at an example. If a company is facing financial hardship, and needs to make layoff decisions, they are prohibited from making those decisions based on the age of their employees. It may seem logical to lay off someone who is close to retirement age, since they would be leaving the company soon anyway, but that cannot be the basis for the layoff.
It is also illegal to harass employees based on their age, and it is illegal to retaliate against an employee that has appropriately spoken up against ageist practices. For example, if an employee mentions that a job posting for “recent college grads only” is problematic, and the employer retaliates against them by removing them from participating in the hiring process, that employer is acting unlawfully, and that behavior can be considered to be ageist.
An applicant/employees age is a protected quality under the law. If you are over 40 it is important to understand that you may face discrimination, and what to do about it if you do. If you believe you have been discriminated against in the workplace, call us to discuss the details of your case. We take ageism very seriously, and would like to help you fight for justice.