AGE DISCRIMINATION

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McKinley Onua attorneys are experienced in handling age discrimination claims. We work to attain the best results for our clients, whether that means negotiating settlements or going to trial. We advise clients about their alternatives and help them formulate strategies that will best protect their interests and minimize their costs.

The law provides protection for employees or applicants who are being treated adversely because the individual is over the age of forty. Federal, state, and local laws provide protections for these individuals.

The Law

  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the NYS Human Rights Law and NYC Human Rights Law prohibit discrimination based on age.
  • It is unlawful to harass or treat an individual adversely because of his or her age.
  • Harassment can include, for example, 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).

 Protected Individuals

  • Employees or applicants who are over the age of forty

 Potential Violators

  • 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.
  • Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are both over 40.

 What The Law Protects

  • The law 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.
  • 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(RFOA).
  • It is illegal for employers to exclude older employees from benefits offered to younger workers.