Commonly, discriminating based on age in the workplace is not considered legal under both the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
According to both laws, there are some particular restrictions on who can actually sue. (For general limitations on who can sue and be sued, look to the California Fair Employment & Housing Act.)
People younger than forty commonly are not protected by age discrimination in the workplace laws. If an employer declines to hire an individual because he or she is thirty-nine, and therefore “too young”, that is not necessarily against the law. But if it is because he or she is forty and “too old”, that is not considered legal.
If you have been discriminated against because of your age, our Ojai age discrimination attorneys can help you with your matter. Call us right away if you have been a victim of age discrimination in Ojai.
Age discrimination has some special factors making it distinctive from other types of employment discrimination. Some of these are discussed below.
Golden Handshakes
Sometimes when employers are down-sizing, they lay individuals off by offering “golden handshakes”. They are special packages to employees who agree to taking early retirement. This isn’t age discrimination.
On the other hand, when it’s being done in order to get rid of senior employees simply because of their age, and if it can be proven that there is a real discriminatory motive, this is not considered legal.
Replacing Older Workers
It is against the law to replace someone over forty with an individual under forty, if age is the reason. It’s also against the law to replace a person over forty with a more youthful person who is also forty.
Older Worker’s Benefit Protection Act
The Older Worker’s Benefit Protection Act provides protection of benefits or benefit packages for older staff. According to this act, a company must provide equal benefits for older staff as they do for younger associates.
A company may achieve this by either providing packages that are equal in benefit or by spending an equal amount of money on each individual. No one can waive his/her right under this act, unless that waiver is knowing and voluntary.
Replacing Higher Earners and Age Discrimination in the Workplace
It isn’t illegal to replace individuals who are making high salary with people who will earn less because they have less seniority.
But, this can result in replacing older staff with younger ones. If the wage factors are not the actual intent, and the company is actually trying to replace some older workers with younger ones, that it against the law. The worker needs to verify that it is the age, not the salary, that is stimulating the employer to fire the older staff.
If you have been discriminated against simply because of your age, our Ojai age discrimination attorneys will help you with your case. Contact us right away if you’ve been a victim of age discrimination in Ojai.
Age Discrimination Lawyer Ojai
Age discrimination lawyers fight against age discriminatory practices to the end of defending the rights of their clients from being completely disrespected.
Age discrimination is described as a bias against a certain person or group due to their age. This includes any assumption of familiarity or sameness due to one’s age. It is said that age discrimination can relate to prejudice towards any age group strictly on the grounds of age.
Courts often look to circumstantial proof to find age discrimination by looking at all the facts gathered and comparing what happened to you with what happened to younger workers.
Often businesses place the blame on non-age relevant aspects such as corporate downsizing, layoff of staff, or reorganization for the unlawful actions.
Even so, you may recognize age discrimination when your supervisor takes biased employment action because of your age while similarly situated, but younger, employees are treated differently and better.
Some cases include:
>> Wrongful termination
>> Demotion
>> Suspension
Federal and state laws safeguard employees from employment discrimination due to age.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act defends people over forty from discriminatory hiring practices and employment decisions made by businesses based on age discrimination.
Our age discrimination lawyers in Ojai understand the legal system and we can show you how it applies to you.
Contact an Ojai Age Discrimination Lawyer Now
Our expert Ojai age discrimination lawyers are competent in employment age discrimination and retirement law.
We can help you recover past and future lost pay and benefits, compensation for emotional distress, legal counsel expenses, as well as punitory damages. Our skilled discrimination lawyers won’t tolerate workplace age discrimination.
We urge you to call us now to set up a consultation to outline your rights.