The Employer's Guide to Age Discrimination

Age discrimination refers to a business that treats an applicant or an employee differently or less favorably due to the employee's age. Federal law prohibits discrimination against people 40 or older based on their age alone. Employers need to know the basics of age discrimination so that workers and job candidates are treated fairly based on their skills, experiences and work ethic.

Major Points of Federal Law

Businesses may not discriminate against people regarding any facet of their employment, even before they work at the firm. Age bias is illegal when it comes to personnel decisions such as hiring, firing, promotions and layoffs. Age cannot be a factor in someone's pay, fringe benefits, job assignments and training. The main federal law that deals with age bias is called the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, or ADEA.

This law applies to any business or company with 20 or more employees, any labor organization with at least 25 members, and any employment agencies. Employees of government agencies on the federal, state and local levels are also protected by federal laws. States may have additional provisions against age discrimination, and those laws vary by jurisdiction. Time limits for taking action on age bias claims vary by state as well.

Other employees at work cannot harass co-workers about their ages, either. This means someone can't make offensive remarks about a co-worker's age on a severe or frequent basis. Federal law defines harassment as an environment in which someone faces a hostile situation, making it hard for them to conduct their work duties in a normal manner. This hostile environment could lead to someone's quitting, firing or demotion. A victim of harassment due to age may see harassment from a supervisor, co-worker, client or customer.

Federal laws provide broad definitions of age discrimination, while state laws may add more protections. Hypothetical examples give employers a better idea of what entails age bias in the workplace.

Discerning Age Discrimination

The ADEA prohibits employers from having policies that have a disproportionate impact on older workers versus younger workers. For example, an employer cannot make an announcement that it only hires people with less than 15 years of experience within the particular industry. Most of the time, this type of policy discriminates against someone who is older, despite his qualifications, skills, experience and potential pay that fit the job description. Instead of a merit-based hiring system, this hypothetical example shows an age-based system.

Employers can't reduce someone's benefits based on age unless the actual expense of that benefit increases with age. To comply with the law, companies usually pay the same amount for benefits given to younger workers and older workers alike. For example, an HR department may determine that Acme Brick will pay $10 per month into each employee's life insurance policy to make everything equal. However, younger people generally receive greater coverage from life insurance for the same amount of money. The fact that a 25-year-old worker has more life insurance coverage compared to a 55-year-old for the same price is not age discrimination because the employer pays the same for each worker.

Employers cannot retaliate against a worker for filing an age bias claim. This means a business can't fire, demote, cut pay or harass someone for taking proper investigative steps against a company regarding age discrimination. Proper steps include any litigation in court.

Companies cannot layoff or fire a group of workers based on age or seniority alone. For instance, when a business announces layoffs, most of the workers are older and make more money. Meanwhile, younger workers stay on simply because they don't make higher wages due to less experience. This type of move has an adverse effect on older workers, and therefore it could be age discrimination. However, there are exceptions if the company provides compensation for the mass dismissals.

Exceptions to the Law

In the case of layoffs, a company can compensate workers with a severance package based on the worker's pay scale. Employees may sign a legal form waiving their rights to sue a company based on ADEA claims, but the employer must provide a valuable consideration under this stipulation. These valuable considerations must be above and beyond any benefits the company already owes to an employee; otherwise, this type of waiver does not comply with federal law. To protect his legal rights, a person has 21 days to review the agreement before signing it, and then another seven days to revoke the agreement after signing it.

One special and very limited exception to the law deals with bona fide occupational qualifications. For example, a television show or a movie needs actors that should look like younger people, such as teenagers or children. Therefore, a youthful appearance is a necessary part of the job. This type of job doesn't fall under the auspices of the ADEA.

Other exceptions to age bias laws also exist. Companies may require executives to retire upon reaching age 65 if the executives stand to earn more than $44,000 per year in pension payments. Law enforcement agencies, independent contractors, military personnel and elected officials don't have the same protections as ordinary employees.

Employers have a duty to treat all workers as fairly as possible. Age discrimination in the workplace is wrong, and it's also illegal. Employers should consult with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to set up a proper framework that prevents age discrimination in the workplace.

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