The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 196 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years old or older from employment discrimination based on age. Under the ADEA, it isunlawful to discriminate against a person for his or her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, such as hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training. The ADEA permits companies to prefer older employees based on age even if doing so adversely affects a younger employee who"s 40 or older.
It"s also illegal to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing an age discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under the ADEA.
The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local authorities. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations, as well regarding the federal government.
* Apprenticeship Programs
A job notice or advertisement may specify an age limit only in the rare circumstances where age is shown to be a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the company.
* Pre-Employment Inquiries
The ADEA doesn"t specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicant"s age or date of birth. However, because such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age, requests for age information will be closely scrutinized to be certain the query was made for a lawful purpose, rather than for a purpose prohibited by the ADEA.
* Benefits
The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 199(OWBPA) amended the ADEA to specifically prohibit employers from denying benefits to older workers. Congress recognized that the cost of providing certain benefits to older workers is higher than the cost of providing those very same advantages to younger workers, which those higher prices would create a disincentive to employ older employees. Consequently, in limited circumstances, an employer may be allowed to reduce benefits based on age, provided that the cost of providing the reduced benefits to older workers is just like the cost of providing benefits to younger workers.
Employers are allowed to coordinate retiree health benefit plans with eligibility for Medicare or a comparable state-sponsored health benefit.
An employer may ask an employee to waive his/her rights or claims under the ADEA either at the settlement of an ADEA administrative or court claim or in connection with an exit incentive program or other employment termination program. However, the ADEA, as amended by OWBPA, sets out specific minimum criteria that have to be fulfilled in order for a waiver to be considered knowing and voluntary and, therefore, valid.
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3. Not waive rights or claims that might arise in the future;
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5. Advise the individual in writing to consult a lawyer before signing the waiver and
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When an employer requests an ADEA waiver in connection with an exit incentive program or other employment termination program, the minimum requirements for a valid waiver are more extensive. Watch the EEOC"s advice Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements.
The objective of the ADA is to stop discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the workforce -- and in many businesses and other areas open to the public -- by requiring that "reasonable accommodations" be made for several kinds of disability.
Despite efforts to define many conditions and supply specificity, the ADA leaves uncertain the specific shapes of an employer"s responsibilities, and the magnitude of handicapped employees" rights For example, when is a lodging "reasonable," and when is it not? What qualifies a person as "handicapped," entitling them to protection under the ADA? This discussion should help provide an overall understanding of the law under the ADA.
The ADA applies to all companies who employ fifteen or more individuals for a minimum of twenty weeks It specifically provides that covered employers Can"t discriminate against otherwise qualified individuals with a handicap:
* The application procedure;
* Hiring;
* Training;
* Promotion;
* Discharge and conclusion; or
Prohibited discrimination includes classifying disabled employees to ensure their job opportunities are more limited than the job chances of non-disabled workers, or establishing standards which make it harder for disabled employees to compete To notify employees of their rights under the ADA, employers must post in the office a notice outlining the rights guaranteed by the ADA.
"Disability" Under the ADA
The ADA only applies to individuals who meet the definition of "handicapped " under the Act. A man is deemed disabled, and so protected under the ADA, whether he or she either really has, or is believed to have, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits what the ADA calls for "major life activity. Major life activities are the basic elements of an individual "s life -- such as walking, speaking, seeing, and learning If a worker has an impairment that substantially limits their ability to perform one or more of those tasks, the employee is considered disabled under the ADA
Even though the determination of whether a worker is disabled is made on a case-by-case foundation, frequent examples of disabilities include confinement to a wheelchair, blindness, deafness, a learning disability, and certain sorts of mental illness. Alcoholism and drug abuse are specially mentioned in the ADA: workers whose current use of alcohol or drugs prevents them from doing their tasks aren"t protected by the ADA, nor are workers who use illegal drugs, but an alcoholic who can execute the duties of her or his job despite their dependence is protected, as is a retrieved alcohol or drug abuser. In determining whether a worker is disabled, it can help to consider if the use of corrective devices reduces or eliminates the limitations on the worker "s activities brought on by the disability. For example, if an employee is hard of hearing, but has normal hearing when wearing a hearing aid, this worker is not considered disabled under the ADA
Finally, to be substantially limited by a disability, the disability must render the employee unable to operate in a wide assortment of tasks A disability that only impacts the employee"s capacity to do a few specific jobs isn"t covered by the ADA by way of instance, if a woman seeks a commercial pilot"s license but is too nearsighted to qualify, she might not be disabled if her nearsightedness only disqualifies her from a job as a pilot, but doesn"t limit her ability to carry out a broad selection of other jobs.
What"s "Reasonable Accommodation"?
Assuming an employee is disabled under the ADA, an employer has a responsibility to create "reasonable accommodations" for the worker "s handicap Such accommodations often include physical changes to the office to Assist the handicapped employee, i.e. installing ramps for a worker who uses a wheelchair Other accommodations may include:
* Restructuring the occupation or its responsibilities to allow the disabled employee to perform the job;
* Allowing the employee to take additional unpaid leave for medical reasons or to use holiday for medical leave;
* Moving the employee to a vacant position or to a temporary light-duty position;
* Installing special equipment to help the employee perform their responsibilities, or delegating "non-essential" responsibilities of the worker "s job, such as those who only occupy a few minutes per day, to another employee;
* Modifying the work schedule to accommodate the handicap; or
* Providing the employee with an experienced reader or interpreter.
Broadly, reasonable accommodation allows a disabled worker to do a job in precisely identical fashion as a non-disabled worker.
Exceptions to the "Reasonable Accommodation" Requirement
While the ADA applies to all disabled workers of qualified companies, it does allow companies restricted latitude in refusing to accommodate the handicapped in the workplace First, if the technical facets of a specific business are those that a job candidate with a specific disability couldn"t perform the work even when the employer made reasonable accommodations, the employer may refuse to employ the applicant. An extreme case of this is a blind individual applying for the job of an airline pilot. The airline could make every reasonable accommodation to allow a blind person to go around in airports and in its own planes, and might even offer another worker to travel with the blind individual to serve as their "eyes. " But even after all of these accommodations are made, a blind person can"t be a pilot A pilot has to have the ability to view, and sight is a work requirement in accordance with the pilot"s ability to fly safely Because sight is a job requirement for a pilot, the airline could refuse to hire an otherwise qualified blind applicant.
An employer may also refuse to accommodate a handicapped individual if the accommodation that would allow them to do the job isn"t "reasonable. " The ADA recognizes that, even if lodging of a specific disability is theoretically possible, the cost or difficulty may render the lodging extremely impractical If the employer can demonstrate that the essential accommodation constitutes an undue hardship, the ADA doesn"t require the employer to make the accommodation.
"Undue Hardship" Under the ADA
Deciding when accommodation is an "undue hardship" under the ADA is dependent upon the nature of the handicap, the actions needed for lodging, and the employer"s particular situation Not surprisingly, due to the variety and complexity of factors involved, there aren"t many hard-and-fast rules about what constitutes an accommodation and undue hardship. Usually, a lodging becomes an undue hardship when it"s very tricky to put into place, or very expensive to implement -- based upon the fiscal costs and viability of the accommodation required, and the employer"s financial assets, both in the office and overall. The solution may differ from disability to disability, and from employer to employer. Clearly, what"s a reasonable accommodation for a large multinational company with thousands of employees may be unreasonable for a small local business with limited funds.
Legal Help with an ADA Employment Claim
Since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a relatively new law, an employer"s responsibilities along with a handicapped individual "s rights under the law are in an almost constant state of development. If you think that your rights might have been broken under the ADA in the employment context -- as a job applicant or as a present or former employee -- contac Rriverside wrongful termination attorney to discuss your choices and protect your legal rights.
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