Part Three in a Series on Workplace Discrimination
Which of the these three hypothetical situations involve age discrimination?
John celebrated his 40th birthday and received notice from his employer shortly thereafter that certain healthcare benefits would no longer be available to him.
Mary recently returned to college after raising her kids. She read an advertisement requesting college interns for a prominent office on Capitol Hill. She considered applying until she noticed that the office was seeking “young” interns.
Susan had been with her employing office for 18 years, when her employer asked for a staff member to give presentations at various offices across the country. Susan had the most experience with the subject matter, but her employer said the traveling would be too taxing for someone her age.
Each situation raises possible issues of age discrimination. Employers and employees alike should be aware of the various forms of potential age discrimination.
Age Discrimination and the CAA
Section 201 of the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) protects covered employees age 40 or more from discrimination based on age.
Individuals younger than 40 do not receive such protection. The law generally forbids the use of age as a motivating factor in personnel actions, such as hiring, discharge, promotion, pay, or benefits.
A covered employee over 40 may also assert that he or she is harassed because of age if certain conduct creates a hostile work environment or interferes with that employee’s work performance.
Example One: John’s 40th Birthday
In the first example above, John may have been discriminated against because age appears to have been a motivating factor in eliminating certain employment benefits still available to other employees.
While there is no single test for determining whether age was a motivating factor in his case, John may still attempt to prove that he was discriminated against by demonstrating that his benefits were decreased because of his age and not because of another unrelated factor.
