Image via Wikipedia The Supreme Court’s ruling in Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi, has upheld the notion that persons who sue for age discrimination do not need to prove that an employer intentionally discriminated based on age. Instead, a person only needs to show that a workplace policy has a disparate impact on older workers. Due to the gray areas within this ruling, additional litigation has surfaced. Plaintiffs sue for emotional distress caused by age discrimination, and the typical age-bias cases average $150,000, while state law wrongful discharge lawsuits can run upwards of $1 million. Age discrimination lawsuits carry great financial penalties because the damages are based on the earnings of the plaintiffs and the time that they are out of work.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEA‘s protections apply to both employees and job applicants. Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment — including, but not limited to, hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training.
It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing an age discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under the ADEA.
The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government.
Certain state laws tend to include employers with fewer than 20 employees, so small businesses might have to comply with state law even if they are not covered by the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
Businesses need to be proactive and extra vigilant in educating themselves to prevent age bias claims. There is no time like the present to evaluate current employment policies. Simple solutions can include keeping abreast of all record keeping requirements and reviewing business policies to ensure they are age neutral. Other solutions include, retaining payroll and benefit plan records for all terminated employees and having an organized and safeguarded system to retrieve important documentation.
Agreed, how would this effect a smaller say 5-10 sized company though
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Age discrimination is a pretty obvious thing that employees can be sure to avoid. However, with so many federal laws and in many states, just as many state laws, it is becoming harder every year to actually run a profitable business. I really think a lot of it has really gotten out of hand. Large corporations of course can employ people to stay on top of this stuff, but small and medium sized companies really have an enormous financial strain brought on by regulation. I feel the governments should take a less is more approach, but sadly they always want to increase their share of the pie.
Personally I don’t believe in age discrimination as long as the person is the best qualified for the job. The problem is, if the person is older (say only 5 years from typical retirement), is it wrong for an employer to prefer a younger applicant simply because investing in a younger candidate could be a smarter financial choice. You may get many more years out of the training investment. So when does it cross the line from a wise business decision to age discrimination. It is a slippery slope when we allow the regulators and courts more and more control into dictating who must be hired. I thought this was a free market after all, is it not?
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where is the pentalys for all of the discrimnations~? this what i want to know?
I will be 69 next week. I work for a company that has been trying to push me out for years because I spoke up for myself as I was verbally abused by the general manager. My current supervisor is an egomaniacal bully. She was hired because she was brought in by a department head. In our dept. there is a young girl who is a relative of another employee also brought in by the department head. The aforementioned 3 people worked together for 9 years before coming to this firm.
I have been the go to person in this workplace (an active adult community) and am adored by the over 3,000 living here.
The young girl was given all my responsibilities and 2 big raises and a fancy title. I have been reduced to the level of a Walmart greeter. My boss told me point blank that the board of directors want this young lady to be very visible. Because she is connected she is getting whatever she wants. The only things she has over me is that she grew up learning computers whereas I don’t have her skills, although I have adequate computer skills to perform my job.
Last year I asked my boss why all my duties were given to the young girl and she told me I was old and inept. I didn’t reply to her because she is such a bully that I knew it would be worse for me.
I cannot afford to quit working because my husband has been sick a very long time and I am the breadwinner.
If I sued the company what kind of a financial settlement do you think I could get.
Thanks so much.
Millie
I am not an attorney and would not wish to advise you on this issue. I suggest you contact an employment attorney to determine what your options are. Good luck.