Age Discrimination
Federal, state and local laws prohibits age discrimination in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training and benefits. In other words, an employer cannot treat you adversely because of your age. In addition to discrete adverse actions, age discrimination can take the form of a “hostile work environment,” which is where an employer creates an environment that is unaccepting of, and intimidating towards, older employees. The experienced age discrimination lawyers at Wigdor have a successful track record of holding employers accountable and recovering substantial financial settlements for our clients.
Age discrimination often occurs in the context of a layoff or reduction in force, during which older employees are often disproportionately impacted. In connection with certain layoffs, if an individual over the age of 40 is terminated, a release of the individual’s age discrimination claims, which are often included as part of a severance agreement, are not enforceable unless certain requirements are complied with, such as giving the employee sufficient time to consider the terms of the release and providing the employee with detailed information about others who have been terminated.
Age discrimination can occur outside of the reduction in force context, when an older employee is singled out for termination and replaced with a younger employee. Relatedly, age discrimination, as well as violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), can occur where employers terminate employees to avoid pension or other retirement benefits.
Though an employer will never admit to engaging in age discrimination, like other forms of discrimination, age discrimination claims are often proven through statistics and documentary evidence. However, even without this evidence, age discrimination can often be established through an individual’s own testimony about the conduct to which they were subjected.
If you think you may have been a victim of age discrimination or have questions about the validity of an age discrimination release, speak with an experienced lawyer who can advise you of your rights.