Employees who are 40 years of age or older are protected from employment discrimination based on age. Under Federal, State and local laws, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments and training.

Age discrimination can take some subtle forms, and employers are often clever about hiding their discriminatory practices. A few examples of possible age discrimination include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

• The employer compensates younger employees with less skill and experience at a higher level than the older employees with more skill and experience.
• A company is having difficult times economically, so it fires or lays off the oldest workers first, because the oldest workers are making the highest salaries after having been with the company the longest.
• A boss gives an older employee undeserved poor performance evaluations and then uses these false records of poor performance to fire or demote the employee.
• An employer will not let an older worker take a training course or otherwise invest in the worker's further growth.
• A company refuses to hire anyone who looks older than a certain age, simply to maintain a youthful company image.
• Management turns down an older employee for promotion, instead hiring someone younger for the position.
• The employer is removing older employees and replacing them with younger employees.

If you believe that you are being discriminated against at work because of your age, you should be aware that laws exist to protect you from unlawful age discrimination. The attorneys at Schwartz & Perry LLP would be pleased to meet and discuss your concerns with you. There is no charge for the initial consultation. Please feel free to call us at (212) 889-6565 or contact us online.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) is a Federal law that protects certain employees who are over 40 years of age from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEA applies to most employers with 20 or more employees. Certain states and cities also have their own laws which prohibit age discrimination.