The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) defines age discrimination as treating a job applicant or employee less favorably because they are 40 years-old or older. Younger workers receive no federal protection, but several states do protect them as well. The law prohibits employers from making employment decisions based solely on age. A company can’t reject a 59 year-old applicant in favor of a 41 year-old applicant on the basis of age alone. Hiring one person over 40 doesn’t not negate the discrimination on the second over-40 applicant. An older American who believes that they are a victim of age discrimination should speak with an Employment Law Springfield MA attorney.
Companies with over 20 employees are subject to the ADEA. They are not allowed to state in a job advertisement that it targets a person of a certain age. When they are designing training programs, they can’t prohibit an older worker from participating in the program. They also can’t require a person to retire at a certain age. There are a few exceptions to the last point such as airline pilots. If a person is told he is too old to go to a conference, he should contact an Employment Law Springfield MA for help. To know more, click here.
Local and state governments are also prohibited from engaging in age discrimination. They are not allowed to establish policies that hurt older workers more than the population in general. Therefore a school board would not be permitted to post a job listing that rules out any teacher with more than 20 years of experience.
Once a worker over 40 years-old is hired, the company can’t create a hostile environment. While an occasional “old codger” joke is permitted, there can’t be constant references to the person’s age. This would include comments such as older people just aren’t good with computers. It doesn’t have to mention the worker by name to be discriminatory.
Given the weak economy and lack of guaranteed retirement plans, Americans are working much later in life. They need a fair workplace in which to do this. Whenever they face unfair treatment on the job because of their age, they should contact an attorney at Connor Morneau & Olin for help. The partners of this law firm have a combined total of over 50 years of experience helping workers in tough situations. They are proud to represent workers and labor unions.
