Employer Age Discrimination

In the workplace, older employees deserve to be valued and respected based upon their years of hard work, insight, and valuable experience. Unfortunately, what older employees and job applicants actually go through can be cruel, as some employers choose young job applicants over older ones, promote younger employees, and “encourage” employees to retire early.

Many types of employment discrimination are prohibited under California and Federal laws. This includes discrimination by an employer based on a person’s age. Both the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) provide strong protections for people aged 40 or older. This is because age is a protected class under the ADEA and the FEHA.

If you are nearing the age of forty or are already above forty, it is important to understand how the ADEA and FEHA work:

• When there is a difference in the two acts, California employees are given the benefit of the more protective laws.
• The ADEA applies to employers with at least 20 employees, while in contrast, the FEHA applies to employers with at least five employees. The discrimination laws also apply to agents of the employer.
• The FEHA applies to all government employers.
• A person must be an employee or job applicant for age discrimination protections.
• The laws provide protection from age discrimination, harassment based on age, and retaliation for exercising legal rights. Further, employers must have written policies on how they plan to address discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

What Constitutes Age Unlawful Discrimination?

It is unlawful under the FEHA for a California employer to discriminate in the following ways:

• To advertise employment opportunities in a way that targets younger job applicants over older ones, such as a target age range, or recent college graduates.
• To screen job applicants based on age or to hire a younger applicant when between equally qualified applicants purely based on age.
• To deny promotions to older employees and instead give the positions to a younger, less qualified persons. Or to deny a promotion to an older employee and to hire a younger, less-qualified person for the job vacancy.
• To transfer or demote an older employee without explanation.
• To give poor performance evaluations to older employees that are not based in fact.
• To deny training and educational opportunities that younger employees are approved for.
• To terminate older employees without explanation or to initiate group layoffs that clearly target older employees.
• To provide poor working conditions to older employees.
• To pay older employees less than younger employees with the same qualifications.

Call Moss Bollinger To Fight For You

You deserve respect and a law firm that will fight for your legal rights in the face of unlawful age discrimination. Moss Bollinger is an employee rights law firm that takes pride in leveling the playing field against employers that violate the law. If your employer has engaged in age discrimination against you, there may be numerous remedies available. Call us. We work on a contingency basis and do not get paid unless you do. Call the law firm of Moss Bollinger today at (310) 982-2291 for a free consultation or use our online form.