The ADEA protects employees aged 40 and over from discrimination in the workplace. It prohibits employers from making hiring and promotion decisions based on a job applicant’s or employee’s age. It has been a law since 1967. Despite the long-term presence of the ADEA some employers still discriminate against job applicants and employees due to their age. In 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 15,573 complaints about age discrimination.
What is the ADEA?
The ADEA states that it is illegal for any organization which employs 20 people or more to consider the age of job applicants or age of employees when deciding on hiring or promotions. Its aim is to protect individuals who are at least 40 years old.
The ADEA states the following actions are illegal.
- It is illegal for an employer to create any policy that is likely to impact any employee or job applicant due to their age which is not based on another reasonable factor.
- Employees’ pay cannot be calculated based on age.
- An employer is not permitted to use the age of employees when classifying, segregating, or limiting employees if this will have a negative effect on their status or deprive them of the opportunity to advance in the job;
- An employer can't terminate an employee due to the person’s age.
- An employer can't make a decision when hiring applicants due to their age;
- An employee’s manager or supervisor, a coworker, or a client cannot create a hostile workplace environment by harassing individual workers about their age.
An employer may only consider an employee’s age when an employment-related decision is required, and an age cap is necessary for the business's operation. There has also been an amendment to the ADEA called the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, which prohibits employers from using age to decide on benefits and prohibits the targeting of older workers when staff cuts are required. It also requires that employers follow precise safeguards when asking an older employee to sign a waiver which gives up their right to sue if they can prove they have been a victim of age discrimination.
Examples of Age Discrimination
There are several examples when age discrimination may take place which could include:
- refusing to hire workers over 40;
- not offering promotion to older workers;
- a supervisor mocking an employee for being too old for the job;
- segregating older workers away from younger workers;
- reducing pay due to the age of a worker.
How to File an Age Discrimination Claim
If you have the evidence to prove you have been a victim of age discrimination as determined by ADEA you can file a claim with the EEOC. You may only file a claim online or in person and you must have suitable documentation that supports your claim including the names of anyone who witnessed the age discrimination. There is a 180 day time limit from the date the age discrimination took place. It may be extended to 300 days if your state has an age discrimination law and an agency which is delegated to enforce it. A job applicant has just 45 days to file a claim.
Speak with an Employment Law Lawyer
It is never easy winning a claim for age discrimination at work or as a job applicant but if you fill out the Free Case Evaluation and get connected with an employment law attorney who subscribes to the website, you have a higher chance of winning compensation than if you worked alone to exert your rights.
