Legal Definitions - ADEA

The ADEA stands for the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

The ADEA is a federal law enacted in 1967 that prohibits employment discrimination against individuals aged 40 or older. Its primary purpose is to promote equal employment opportunities based on ability rather than age. This law applies to private employers with 20 or more employees, as well as to federal, state, and local governments. The ADEA makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against older workers in any aspect of employment, including hiring, promotion, compensation, job assignments, benefits, training, or termination.

Key protections under the ADEA include:

• Prohibiting job advertisements that specify an age preference or limitation.
• Preventing the denial of benefits to older employees solely based on their age.
• Generally prohibiting mandatory retirement ages, with very limited exceptions for certain high-level executives in policy-making positions.

Here are some examples of how the ADEA applies:

• Example 1: Hiring Decisions

  A highly experienced software engineer, aged 58, applies for a senior position at a tech company. Despite having a strong resume and excellent qualifications that perfectly match the job description, the hiring manager decides not to interview them. Instead, the manager tells a colleague, "We're looking for someone with a more 'modern' perspective who will fit better with our younger team culture." The company then hires a 32-year-old candidate with less experience. In this scenario, the ADEA could be invoked because the 58-year-old applicant was denied an interview and ultimately the job based on an age-related bias rather than their qualifications, which is a prohibited form of discrimination in hiring.

• Example 2: Promotion and Training Opportunities

  A 45-year-old marketing specialist has consistently exceeded performance targets for several years. When a new director-level position opens up, they apply, confident in their qualifications and track record. However, the company promotes a 30-year-old colleague with less experience and a shorter tenure, stating that the younger employee "has more growth potential" and "is more adaptable to new technologies." Furthermore, the company frequently sends younger employees to cutting-edge industry conferences and advanced training programs, while the 45-year-old specialist is overlooked for these development opportunities. This situation could be a violation of the ADEA because the specialist is being denied promotion and training opportunities based on age, implying that their "growth potential" or "adaptability" is unfairly judged due to their age, rather than their actual performance or willingness to learn.

• Example 3: Layoffs and Termination

  During a company-wide restructuring, a manufacturing firm announces a reduction in its workforce. The company implements a layoff plan that disproportionately impacts employees over the age of 50. For instance, 70% of the employees laid off are over 50, even though this age group constitutes only 30% of the total workforce, and many of these older employees had strong performance reviews. The ADEA would be relevant here because the pattern of layoffs suggests that age, rather than objective performance or business necessity, might have been a significant factor in deciding who was terminated. The law prohibits employers from using age as a criterion to select employees for layoff or termination, especially when it results in a disparate impact on older workers.