Introduction to basic ADEA claims
The most frequent types of
age discrimination claims involve termination. Often the terminations come about as part
of a reduction in force. Most age
discrimination claims are brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
For a discussion of how an ADEA claim is brought, see
Pursuing
an Employment Discrimination Claim.
Reminder
If you have not read
Introduction to Legal Research and
Introduction to Employment Discrimination Law, you should read these articles first.
Read the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(ADEA)
If you want to read the
actual federal statutes that make up the ADEA, click on
ADEA.
Who is protected by the ADEA
Plaintiff must be age 40 or older
The ADEA protects workers
and job applicants from age discrimination if they are at least 40 years of age.
Therefore, workers age 40 and over are said to be members of the "protected
class" (meaning the class of persons protected from age discrimination). Someone
younger than age 40 is not a member of the protected class. For example, if a
restaurant fires a 39-year-old waitress and replaces her with a 20-year-old waitress, the
older waitress cannot sue for age discrimination under the ADEA -- even though she was
fired because of her age.
Plaintiff's employer must have at least 20 employees
Also, ADEA claims can only
be brought against employers who have 20 or more employees. However, some state age
discrimination laws allow an employer with fewer than 20 employees to be sued for
discrimination. For example, in Tennessee, an employer with 8 or more employees can be
sued for age discrimination.
