Age discrimination is one of the most common types of workplace discrimination. It involves treating an employee less favorably because of his or her age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) forbids age discrimination against people who are forty or older. Minnesota state law protects employees who are over eighteen from age discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). Both the ADEA and the MHRA prohibit discrimination in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.
Like many forms of discrimination, it can sometimes be difficult for an employee to prove age discrimination is occurring in the workplace. However, here are some ways you may establish that you have experienced age discrimination at work:
- Show that you are in the protected age class – You must be forty years or older to be protected from age discrimination under the ADEA. You must be over eighteen to be protected from age discrimination under the MHRA.
- Prove your case with ageist comments or conduct in the workplace – Age discrimination can involve offensive age-based verbal comments, jokes, or gestures. The harasser can be a supervisor, coworker, or even someone who does not work for your employer, such as a customer.
- Prove that you were replaced by a significantly younger person – You may be able to learn information about your replacement through coworkers. Some employers may even groom your replacement while you are still employed.
- Prove that a policy was implemented that negatively impacted and/or targeted older employees – This generally requires evidence of a pattern and practice and potentially statistical evidence.
- Prove that younger employees were treated better – It is helpful for an age discrimination claim if you can establish that younger employees were treated more favorably than older employees, such as the promotion of a younger employee over a more qualified older employee.
- Prove your case with witnesses – If your employer discriminated against you, there may be other “me too” victims or coworkers who witnessed the discrimination. These individuals may be willing to help you establish age discrimination in the workplace.
This is not a complete list of all the ways to prove age discrimination. Each case must be evaluated on its own individual facts. If you believe you have been discriminated by an employer because of your age, contact our Minnesota employment attorneys to discuss your employment situation. Our workplace discrimination lawyers will diligently fight to ensure that your rights are protected.
