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Age discrimination laws only apply to some workers

On Behalf of | Dec 17, 2019 | Employment Law |

There are specific factors that employers can’t consider when they are trying to determine certain employment actions. For some employees, age is one of these factors. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prevents employers from considering the fact that a person is 40 years old or older as part of the employment process.

Every aspect of employment is covered by this law. It includes hiring, assigning jobs, pay, termination or layoffs, training, promotions, benefits and demotions. People who fall into his age category must remember that they can still face negative employment actions if they don’t do their job duties. The protections of this act are strictly for decisions based on the employee’s age.

Employees also can’t be subjected to harassment based on their age. It doesn’t forbid minor incidents. However, frequent or severe harassment is forbidden. In order to qualify as severe, it must create a work environment that is hostile to the employee.

Just as in other cases of harassment or discrimination, the person who initiates the illegal actions doesn’t have to be a supervisor of the employee. It is much more common for a supervisor to be involved with negative employment actions after the complaint. Vendors, clients, co-workers and anyone else who comes into contact with the victim during the course of their shift can face harassment allegations.

Anyone over the age of 40 who thinks they are a victim of age discrimination or harassment should find out their options. Filing a legal complaint is one course of action that you might opt to pursue. This might help you to negate the negative impacts the situation had on your life.