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The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects workers over 40 from age-based harassment, biased hiring, and wage discrimination. Employers with 20 or more employees are covered, but there are exceptions for independent contractors and some political appointees. Employers can ask about age but cannot use it to intimidate or dissuade applicants. Age restrictions in job postings are generally not allowed, except for jobs with physical or age-specific requirements.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act is a measure to protect older Americans from any type of age-based workplace harassment. Anyone over the age of 40 can potentially benefit from these protections. The law, passed in 1967, specifically prohibits biased hiring practices, wage discrimination, and any kind of unfavorable treatment based solely on age. For example, if a person believes they have been passed over for a promotion because they are older than their competitor, they could potentially have grounds for a complaint under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
The law defines an employer as a group in an industry “doing business” with 20 or more employees. This definition is quite broad and applies to a wide range of businesses. Some small businesses may not fall under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, but typically they would be rare.
The main rule governing employees covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act is that they must be over 40 years of age. Nearly all employees within that age range are protected, with a couple of exceptions. Independent contractors do not fall under the definition. Neither elected officials nor some of their appointees working on political issues. The political exception exists because situations could arise where age would be a valid reason to remove an elected person from office.
Employers can ask a person their age under the law, but there are some special restrictions. If an employer specifically asks a person’s age to intimidate and dissuade them from applying, this would be a violation of the law on age discrimination in employment. To avoid this kind of behavior, any employer who wants to inquire about age in advance can be subjected to a special check.
Employers are not allowed to list any age restrictions in their job postings with one exception. There are some jobs where people of a certain age simply wouldn’t be able to perform their duties. An example would be a job that requires extremely strenuous physical labor. Another example would be an acting job where the producers needed a 12-year-old or a 20-year-old. In such situations, an older person may not be able to hold employment and it would generally be acceptable to list a reasonable age limit in job advertisements.
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