Age Discrimination
A federal law, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40. Some state laws protect younger workers from age discrimination but Arizona does not currently have any such laws. Therefore, in Arizona, an employer cannot favor a younger worker over an older worker (40 and older), even if both are over 40. However, it is not illegal for an employer to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are over the age of 40.
The ADEA prohibits discrimination in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.
Example: An employee's 65th birthday is approaching. A manager asks the employee repeatedly about retirement, including: “When are you going to retire,” “Why don’t you retire at 65,” and “What is the reason you are not retiring?” After the employee tells the manager she had no plans to retire, the company informs the employee her position was being eliminated due to economic uncertainty. Less than a month after firing the employee, the company hires an employee in his thirties as a new purchasing agent, the same position the company claimed to have eliminated. This is illegal under the ADEA. An employer cannot fire someone because of age and cannot pressure an employee to retire simply because she turns 65
The ADEA requires employers to provide equal opportunities to job applicants 40 and older as they provide to younger applicants. Employers are not free to discriminate based on age, or to refuse hire to applicants over 40 who may be making mid-career job transitions. Federal courts in age discrimination cases have recognized when employers use words like ‘too senior’ or ‘overqualified,’ to reject a job applicant, that is often just a euphemism for age discrimination, unless those descriptions are based on objective job qualifications. Employers must hire the best candidates based on job qualifications, not based on cultural stereotypes about older workers. Harmful and misplaced stereotypes about age do not belong in the workplace, and employers that discriminate against older workers violate the law.
It is also unlawful under the ADEA to harass a person because of his or her age. This includes offensive or derogatory remarks about a person's age. Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren't very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.
Disparate Impact - Age Discrimination & Employment Policies/Practices
An employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of age, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on applicants or employees age 40 or older and is not based on a reasonable factor other than age