As the “baby boomers” begin retiring, age discrimination employment law cases are becoming much more prevalant. Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination based on an employee’s age if that employee is over 40 years old. There are limited exceptions for such things as mandatory retirement at a certain age.

To prove a case for age discrimination, you essentially must prove that your employer discriminated against you in the terms, conditions, or privileges of your employment because of your age. We should also note that there is no such thing as “reverse” age discrimination. That is, there is nothing illegal about discriminating against someone because they are under 40 years old.

Another way to prove discrimination based on age is the so-called “disparate impact” theory. While difficult to prove, this analysis basically examines what appears at first glance to be neutral rules or hiring criteria that have the effect of discriminating against older people.

For example, if an employer requires its white-collar employees to run one mile in under a certain time, it might have the effect of excluding older employees. This is discrimination that has a “disparate” (different) impact on older workers than it does on younger ones and could therefore be illegal.

Before the 2005 United States Supreme Court case of Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi, 544 U.S. 228 (2005), it was questionable whether this “disparate impact” theory could be used in age discrimination cases, but the Court ruled 5-3 to allow it. In California, however, this was already prohibited by statute.

If you believe you have been discriminated against because of your age, we invite you to contact us today for a free consultation to discuss this and any other employment law questions you might have.