Understanding Age Discrimination

At the Fulton Law Corporation in California, we know that your work is a vital part of your life. Nevertheless, your workplace itself may some place you wish you did not have to go. Such is true if you face any type of discrimination while there, including that of age discrimination.

As the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act forbids your employer and your co-employees hired to work there to discriminate against you if you are 40 years old or older. Your protection extends to all aspects of your relationship with your employer, including as any of the following:

• Current employee
• Former employee
• Job applicant
• An applicant for or participant in an apprenticeship or training program

Types of work situations

While age discrimination can take many forms, it generally falls into one of the following categories:

• Hiring
• Firing and layoffs
• Pay rates
• Job assignments
• Training and benefits
• Promotions

At its most basic, age discrimination occurs when an employer treats you unfavorably in relation to a younger person with the same qualifications, job skills, pay grade, etc. Such treatment is illegal. What may surprise you, however, is that the converse is not true. In other words, it is not illegal for an employer to favor you over someone under the age of 40.

In addition to actual employment practices, your supervisor and coworkers cannot harass you by making derogatory remarks about your age. Neither can your employer’s customers or clients.

Finally, even if a particular employment practice or policy applies to everyone, regardless of age, it can be discriminatory and therefore illegal if it negatively impacts you and other employees over the age of 40 and is not based on any reasonable factor other than age.

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