Discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act

June 30, 2014

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prohibits age discrimination in the workplace for those individuals 40 (forty) years old and older.   This means that an employer may not fail or refuse to hire, or terminate an individual based on that person’s age.  An employer is also prohibited from segregating or classifying employees based on age, depriving an individual of employment opportunities based on age, or otherwise discriminating against any individual based on that person’s age.    Retaliation for reporting age discrimination or participating in an age discrimination investigation or law suit is also prohibited by the ADEA.
There are certain requirements that must be met before a person can file a lawsuit based on age discrimination under the ADEA.  First, the employer must have at least 20 (twenty) employees for the ADEA to apply.  A person who believes that they have been the victim of age discrimination must exhaust their administrative remedies prior to filing a lawsuit.  This generally involves reporting the alleged discrimination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR).   Once the EEOC or FCHR renders a decision, or issues a “right to sue” letter, the individual claiming discrimination may file a lawsuit against his or her employer or former employer.