Age

The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (“ADEA”) makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of an employee’s age. The Act protects employees who are 40 years of age or older from discriminatory decisions relating to hiring, firing, promotions, demotions, compensation, job assignments, and other terms and conditions of employment. The Act also protects employees who are subjected to harassment because of their age. Finally, the Act protects employees who complain about age discrimination from retaliation by the employer. The ADEA covers employers with 20 or more employees. Similar state and local laws cover employers with fewer employees.

The federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (“OWBPA”) amended the ADEA to make it unlawful for employers to deny benefits to older workers. The OWBPA also includes safeguards to help prevent employers from taking advantage of older workers who are offered severance packages or settlement agreements in exchange for waiving their claims under the ADEA.

Age discrimination claims under the ADEA must be filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and then the employee may file his or her own lawsuit against the employer in federal court under ADEA. Merrick Law Firm LLC represents employees before the EEOC and in federal court in connection with age discrimination claims and hostile work environment claims involving age-related harassment.

If you believe you are being pushed out of your job at least in part because of your age, call us at 312.269.0200 or contact us online to explore your options.