Age discrimination at work is treating applicants or employees aged 40 or older less favorably because of their age, in hiring, promotion, layoffs, pay or other terms of employment.
| Situation | What to check |
|---|---|
| Job ads | Words like young, energetic, recent graduate or digital native |
| Layoffs | Whether selection criteria are job related and the outcome falls heavily on older workers |
| Promotions | Whether older employees are told about openings and considered |
| Training | Whether older employees get the same access to training |
| Severance waivers | OWBPA timing and disclosure requirements |
A manufacturer with 140 employees lays off 12. Nine are 40 or older. Before finalizing, HR checks the selection: it used a skills matrix and attendance records over 2 years, applied to everyone in the affected departments, and documented each score. The older group’s share of the layoff is high, so HR has the scores reviewed by someone not involved; they hold up.
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Each person is offered severance in exchange for a release of claims. Because it is a group program, each person 40 or older gets at least 45 days to consider the agreement, is advised in writing to consult an attorney, receives the written list of job titles and ages of the people selected and not selected in the affected group, and has 7 days to revoke after signing. A worker who receives the agreement on March 2 can take until April 16 to decide; if she signs on April 10, the release becomes final only after the revocation period ends.
Rushing people to sign in a week would have put every one of those releases at risk.
Many age problems start in the job ad. Describe the work and the skills, not the kind of person: “comfortable using a tablet to log orders” instead of “digital native”, “able to stand for an 8-hour shift” instead of “energetic”, and “one year of experience” rather than “recent graduate”. Ask the same questions of every candidate and score against the job’s requirements.
Check training and promotion access as well. Offer training on new systems to everyone in the role, not only to people a manager assumes will pick it up quickly, and record who was offered what. Decisions based on assumptions about age, such as who will adapt to change, are exactly the kind the law targets.
A retailer introduces handheld inventory devices. The store manager initially trains the 8 youngest associates, assuming they will learn faster, and gives them the extra inventory shifts that come with the role.
HR notices that older associates asked for the training and were not included. The store opens training to all 22 associates who want it, on paid time, and assigns inventory shifts by a rotation among everyone trained. Two of the most accurate inventory counts the next quarter come from associates over 55.
Under the ADEA, individuals at least 40 years of age. Some state laws protect younger workers too.
Employers with 20 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
Generally 180 days with the EEOC. It extends to 300 days only if a state law prohibits age discrimination and a state agency enforces it; a local law alone does not extend it.
At least 21 days, or 45 days in a group program, plus at least 7 days to revoke after signing.
Asking for dates that reveal age can suggest age is a factor. Many employers ask only whether a degree or certificate was earned.
No. Treating someone 40 or older less favorably because of age is prohibited for covered employers, and many state laws go further.
Digital HR forms, e-signatures and a digital employee file with expiry reminders, plus announcements by location, department or role.