Did I Experience Unlawful Age Discrimination?

When you are applying for a new job for which you ultimately are not hired, or when you are laid off from a job only to find out that the company ended up hiring another employee to fill your position, you might wonder if you were discriminated against in the hiring process or in the decision to terminate your employment. When it comes to hiring, many Florida businesses are prohibited from any kind of discrimination on the basis of age. Similarly, age cannot be a factor in many businesses when an employer decides to announce layoffs or to terminate an individual worker. While Florida is an at-will state for employment purposes — which means you can be terminated or leave your job for any reason if you do not have an employment contract — you cannot be terminated for reasons that are based on unlawful discrimination.

How can you know if you experienced unlawful age discrimination? Our Palm Beach Gardens age discrimination lawyers can provide you with more information.

Is the Employer Covered by State or Federal Laws Prohibiting Age Discrimination in Employment?

 In order to have an actionable age discrimination claim, it is not always enough to be able to show that you were treated differently on the basis of age (as we will explain in more detail below). To be able to file a successful age discrimination claim, you will need to be able to confirm that the employer is covered by state or federal laws prohibiting age discrimination in employment.

Under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the employer will need to employ at least 20 employees on a regular basis with the current or the prior calendar year. Under the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA), the employer will need to employ at least 15 people. In other words, if the employer only employs 10 people, even if discrimination on the basis of age occurred, you may not have an actionable claim.

Is There Evidence of Unlawful Age Discrimination? 

If the employer is covered, then it will be critical to work with an attorney to gather evidence of unlawful age discrimination. Under the ADEA, claims can only be made for age discrimination against an applicant or employee who is aged 40 or older (i.e., treating an older employee adversely). The FCRA prohibits age discrimination regardless of the applicant’s or employee’s age (i.e., assuming a younger employee is not experienced enough to do a particular job, or believing applicants over a certain age are too old to do a particular task).

Evidence of age discrimination can be difficult to obtain, so it is essential to work with a lawyer. Examples of evidence may include:

• Job ad seeking employees of a certain age;
• Internal company memo expressing concerns about employees of a particular age;
• Email exchanges among members of the hiring committee about applicant ages;
• Email exchanges among members of a promotion committee taking the age of the employees into consideration; or
• Written notes identifying older employees for termination due to age.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Age Discrimination Lawyer 

Do you have questions about a possible age discrimination claim? One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens age discrimination attorneys at Sconzo Law Office can assess your experience for you today and help you to understand whether you could be eligible to file a claim for unlawful age discrimination in Florida. Whether you experienced age discrimination in the hiring process, in promotion, or in termination, our firm is here to help you. Contact us today for more information.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0100-0199/0112/Sections/0112.044.html

eeoc.gov/statutes/age-discrimination-employment-act-1967