Age Discrimination Law: A Workers and Employers Overview

40 questions on age discrimination law, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are job advertisements that signal an age preference illegal?
• Are state and local governments covered by the ADEA regardless of size?
• Can age discrimination take the form of a hostile work environment?
• Can an employer favor older workers over younger ones under federal law?
• Can an employer force older executives to retire at a set age?
• Can an employer use after-acquired evidence of misconduct to limit an age-discrimination award?
• Can a subgroup of older workers, such as those 55 and older, bring a disparate-impact claim?
• Can I sue my boss or supervisor personally under the ADEA?
• Can outside job applicants bring disparate-impact claims under the ADEA?
• Does my replacement have to be under 40 for me to have an age claim?
• Does state law provide more age-discrimination protection than the ADEA?
• Does the ADEA allow compensatory (pain and suffering) or punitive damages?
• Does the ADEA prohibit retaliation against workers who complain about age discrimination?
• Does the ADEA protect independent contractors?
• Does the ADEA protect workers under 40 or bar “reverse” age discrimination?
• Do federal employees face a different age-discrimination causation standard?
• Do I have to file an EEOC charge before suing for age discrimination?
• How does age discrimination law differ from Title VII?
• How do multi-plaintiff age discrimination cases proceed?
• How long do I have to file an age discrimination charge with the EEOC?
• Is a single ageist comment enough to prove age discrimination?
• Is firing a worker to stop a pension from vesting age discrimination?
• Is it illegal for an employer to ask an applicant's age or date of birth?
• What are liquidated damages under the ADEA, and when is back pay doubled?
• What are the two ways to prove age discrimination?
• What can a worker recover for winning an ADEA claim?
• What causation standard applies to ADEA claims under Gross v. FBL Financial?
• What defenses can an employer raise to an age discrimination claim?
• What extra disclosures does the OWBPA require in a group layoff or reduction in force?
• What happens if a severance release doesn't comply with the OWBPA?
• What is “cat's paw” liability in an age discrimination case?
• What is disparate-impact age discrimination, and how is it proved?
• What is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and what does it prohibit?
• What is the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense to an age claim?
• What is the McDonnell Douglas framework in an age discrimination case?
• What is the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)?
• What is the “reasonable factor other than age” (RFOA) defense?
• What makes a severance waiver of ADEA claims valid and enforceable?
• Which employers must comply with the ADEA?
• Who is protected by the ADEA?