Federal Law and state law prohibit discrimination against workers based on their age. Under Federal law, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prohibits employment age-based discrimination against employees who are 40 years of age or older. Further, The Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA) prohibits employment practices that discriminate against applicants and employees 40 years of age or older based on age. Knowing the law can help you identify signs of age discrimination in the workplace.
ADEA and THRA Protections Against Age Discrimination
Under the ADEA and the THRA it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his or her age by:
- Failing or refusing to hire, fire, or discriminate against an individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of age.
- Limiting, segregating, or classifying an employee or applicants for employment in any way that would deprive an individual of employment opportunities or adversely affect an employee because of age.
- Publishing, printing, or circulating any advertisement or notice for employment that expresses any preference, limitation, or specification as to age.
Signs of Age Discrimination in the workplace
Some of the most common signs of age discrimination in the workplace are when an employer makes hiring, firing, pay, job assignment, promotion, layoff, training, benefit, or any other work-related decisions about an individual based solely on their age.
Other forms of discrimination can include harassment on the basis of a person’s age. Harassment can include, offensive or derogatory remarks related to a person’s age that are done frequently or are so severe that it creates a hostile work environment.
Other forms of discrimination can include creating employment policies or practices that either intentionally discriminates against a person over the age of 40 or unintentionally have a negative impact on applicants or employees over the age of 40 and is not based on a reasonable factor other than age.