Age Discrimination

Dallas Employment Attorney Dan A. Atkerson Makes It Right

While there are laws that prevent employers from hiring individuals who are too young to work, age discrimination involves employees or applicants who are over the age of 40 years old. Both state law and federal law prohibit employers from considering an employee’s or applicant’s age when making hiring, firing or compensation decisions as well as other terms of employment. Dallas employment attorney Dan A. Atkerson represents clients who have been denied promotions or seen benefits reduced because of their age, and he can help you understand the legal recourse available to victims of age discrimination.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including employment agencies, labor organizations, and the federal, state and local governments. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes that ADEA protections apply to five specific areas:

• Apprenticeship Programs
• Job Notices and Advertisements
• Pre-employment Inquiries
• Benefits
• Waivers of ADEA Rights

The EEOC notes that an employer may ask an employee to waive his or her rights under the ADEA, but also points out that there are specific minimum standards the ADEA waiver must meet specific minimum standards to be valid. Some of those requirements include that the waiver must:

• Be in writing and be understandable
• Specifically refer to ADEA rights or claims
• Not waive rights or claims that may arise in the future
• Be in exchange for something of value (not including anything to which you are already in entitled, such as regular salary)
• Advise the individual in writing to consult an attorney before signing the waiver
• Provide the individual at least 21 days to consider the agreement (45 days in event of a group exit or incentive program with required roster of titles and ages of employees selected and not selected for reduction to be provided by employer) and at least seven days to revoke the agreement after signing it.

How Age Discrimination Happens

Workers who end up filing age discrimination complaints may have lost their jobs because the employer wanted to replace them with younger, cheaper labor. Sometimes, a round of layoffs will target older employees, but the employer will fail to provide the age data following the workforce reduction. There are also cases in which the victim never actually worked for the employer because the discrimination was in the refusal to hire.

Older workers have a number of rights, and Dan A. Atkerson helps victims pursue damages including lost wages and benefits, backpay, frontpay and liquidated damages. If you think age discrimination led to you losing a job or not obtaining a job, contact Dallas employment lawyer Dan A. Atkerson to see what options you have.