Key to Proving Age Discrimination is Documentation

Federal and state discrimination laws are designed to promote employment of older persons based on their abilities, irrespective of age. The most important being the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).
The ADEA protects workers over 40 from being arbitrarily fired, refused a job, forced to retire, or treated unfairly with respect to pay, promotions, health care coverage, benefits, retirement plans, and other employment opportunities because of age.

Some state agencies (such as the Human Rights Commission) process discrimination cases more quickly than the EEOC and provide greater damages and remedies under applicable state law. Consider pursuing your rights with the Human Rights Commission or after discussing your options with your union representative.
Proving age discrimination is not easy.

It comes down to enough evidence. People may have a hunch, but you need more than a hunch. By asking a WPEA member how they knew they were discriminated against because of age, the answer needs to be more than overhearing a conversation about why older employees were being terminated, RIF’d or denied access to opportunity. In most cases, age discrimination is one person’s word against another’s.

The answer is standard: document, document, document!

A paper trail is crucial. For example, if a supervisor is hiring a position and issues a handwritten note to his 60 year old female assistant that she should select only job applicants who were male, between the ages of 22 and 34 and without an accent, the handwritten note will help ensure a good case.

Employers would be better off to spend less time documenting defenses against potential discrimination lawsuits and more time preventing them.

Employees should document incidents of disciplinary measures through precise records of conferences, warnings, probationary notices, remedial efforts and similar meetings.

The following are prohibited by federal and state law:

• Denying an older applicant a job on the basis of age.

• Imposing compulsory retirement before age 70.

• Forcing older employees into retirement by threatening them with termination or loss of
  benefits, unless the state has instituted a valid seniority system or retirement plan.

• Firing older workers because of age.

• Denying promotions, transfers, or assignments because of age.

• Penalizing older employees with reduced privileges, employment opportunities, or
  compensation because of age.

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