What Is An Age Discrimination Complaint in 2020?

Older Americans are not only living longer, they are also working longer. As such, a growing concern adversely affecting millions of working Baby Boomers is age discrimination. Put simply, age discrimination involves treating job applicants or employees less favorably because of their age.

Judging older workers on the basis of age rather than abilities is wrong, and it can have devastating effects on the financial security of qualified senior workers. For good reason, it is illegal. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers and job applicants, as young as 40 years old, from age-based discrimination in all aspects of employment. States also have age discrimination laws, though they may vary. Protections extend to hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.

You may be the victim of age discrimination if:

• Your employer terminates your employment and hires a younger worker at a much lower compensation rate.
• You are subjected to ugly comments and veiled threats, such as, “Old people are terrible with technology,” and “When are you going to retire?”
• You are reassigned to unpleasant duties in an attempt to force you out of a job or position for which you are qualified.
• Your performance reviews start to plummet without justification. 

New research further shows that older job applicants are “substantially” less likely to be invited for an interview when they apply for a job in person compared to when they apply online and are not required to disclose their age. This is wrong, and all forms of age discrimination deserve to be confronted. A first step might be to talk to your employer or file a complaint via a company’s internal grievance policy.

If the result is unsatisfactory, you may need to seek representation. While you may want to consider filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint, there is never a wrong time to speak with an experienced attorney. Your attorney is going to talk to you about what happened, the potential outcomes, and how to follow the timelines and guidelines involved to move your case forward.

We know just how difficult this conversation can be to have, and how devastating it can be to be a victim. If you or someone you know has been the victim of workplace age discrimination, do not wait to contact an experienced attorney for more information. You are welcome to contact our office anytime, day or night, and schedule a free case of evaluation.