You weren’t hired because the employer doesn’t want an “old face” at the company. [5] X Expert Source James FettLawyer Expert Interview. 22 November 2022. Your supervisor pays you less than younger colleagues even though your performance is equivalent. You are harassed because of your age.
To find your state law, perform a basic internet search. Type “your state” and “age discrimination” into your favorite web browser. If you cannot find anything, then check your state’s Department of Labor. Despite its name, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) does not prohibit age discrimination against workers under 40. This narrows down to state law. The District of Columbia and some states including Michigan, New York, and New Jersey have laws protecting younger workers. [7] X Expert Source James FettLawyer Expert Interview. 22 November 2022. In these states, if you are at least 18 years old, your employer cannot legally discriminate against you for being too old or too young unless age is a bona fide occupational qualification (for example, employers can require bartenders to be 21 or older).
If you sign a waiver and release knowingly and voluntarily, then you will forfeit your ability to bring a lawsuit for age discrimination. Accordingly, you should speak to an attorney as quickly as possible. To find an experienced employment lawyer, you should visit your state’s bar association, which should run a referral program.
Gather all copies of your performance reviews and look for complaints. If you received negative comments about your attendance, for example, then you should expect your employer to blame your demotion or firing on your attendance—even if what secretly motivated your employer was your age. [11] X Expert Source Lyle Solomon, JDAttorney Expert Interview. 18 August 2021.
If the comments were made in an email, then print off the email and preserve it. Any written materials will be helpful evidence. [14] X Expert Source Lyle Solomon, JDAttorney Expert Interview. 18 August 2021. If the comments were made to another co-worker, then write down the co-worker’s name and the substance of the comments.
Although you cannot know with precision the exact ages of your co-workers, you should have a general sense, which is enough to raise an age discrimination claim. Later, if you bring a lawsuit, then you will need to get the exact ages for others affected. You can do this in a process called discovery.
Also, you could gain access to discovery, which is generally made public. As part of a lawsuit, another plaintiff may have uncovered internal memos or confidential policies that show a policy of age discrimination. Alternately, another plaintiff may have compiled statistical evidence that would be helpful to your case. If you have a lawyer, then the lawyer could do a search for other lawsuits involving your employer. If you want to do a search yourself, then you would probably need to speak to the court clerk about how to access court files. In federal courts, many case files are available online, but in many state courts only paper copies are available.
Sometimes, you have to file with a state agency because the federal anti-discrimination laws might not apply to your worksite. For example, your employer may not have employed at least 20 people for at least 20 calendar weeks (which is required by the federal law). [17] X Trustworthy Source US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission U. S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace Go to source Also, some state laws may protect against age discrimination for those under age 40. [18] X Trustworthy Source US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission U. S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace Go to source If you file a charge with either the state or federal office, the charge is then automatically filed with the other office. [19] X Trustworthy Source US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission U. S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace Go to source
your name, address, and telephone number your employer’s name, address, and telephone number the number of employees employed there a short description of the events you believe were discriminatory when the events took place that age discrimination was the motivation for the discriminatory events your signature
Call 800-884-1684 (or 800-884-1684 if deaf or hard of hearing). Print out and mail an Inquiry form to any Department of Fair Employment and Housing Office. Complete the Inquiry form and email it to contact. center@dfeh. ca. gov.
Your attorney may prepare the witnesses by running through a mock examination. The purpose of this exercise is to get the witness comfortable with answering questions. Adequate preparation is important so that your witnesses appear credible. You can compel the attendance of your witnesses by issuing them a subpoena to attend the trial. Subpoenas can generally be obtained from the court clerk. Once completed, they must be served on the witnesses, either through the mail or personally. Ask the court clerk for acceptable methods of service.
In order to proceed under this theory, you will need to prove that you are 40 or older and were qualified for your job. Furthermore, you must show that you suffered an adverse employment action and that people under 40 were not treated the same. Once you prove these elements, the burden shifts to the defendant employer to prove a legitimate reason for the action that is not discriminatory. If the employer meets that burden, then you must show that the “legitimate reason” is actually a pretext.
Once the plaintiff shows a disparate impact, then the employer must show that the negative impact is based on a reasonable factor other than age. [24] X Trustworthy Source US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission U. S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace Go to source A reasonable business factor is one reasonably designed and administered to achieve a legitimate business purpose. For example, if a police department required applicants to pass a physical fitness test, then they would probably have a legitimate business purpose in requiring the test if it accurately measured the speed and strength necessary for the job. [25] X Trustworthy Source US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission U. S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace Go to source If such a physical test were used for computer programmers, however, then the test is unlikely to serve a legitimate business purpose, since speed and strength are not traits necessary for computer programmers.
