How Should I Respond to a Claim of Age Discrimination?

 Posted on March 23, 2025 in Employment Discrimination

In the state of Illinois, employees are protected on two levels from age discrimination in the workplace. Under the Illinois Human Rights Act, both public and private employers may not take adverse employment actions against an employee because they are age 40 or older and may not discriminate against job applicants based on age.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is a federal employment law that protects employees across the U.S. from discrimination on the basis of age in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, as well as compensation, discharge, promotion, and hiring decisions. The federal law applies to employers with 20 or more employees.

Both Acts provide similar protections by prohibiting employers from harassing, discriminating, or taking adverse employment action against an applicant for a job or a current employee based on their age. The ADEA also protects workers from having certain benefits denied because of their age. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act amended the ADEA so that employers may not deny work-related benefits to any employee over the age of 39.

While few employers deliberately engage in age discrimination, an employee or potential employee may feel differently. Because of this, it is important that you understand the implications of age discrimination and are mindful of how certain statements or actions might sound, no matter how you mean them. If your business is facing a claim of age discrimination, speaking to an experienced Schaumburg, IL FLSA litigation attorney can be very beneficial.  

What Can Be Considered Age Discrimination in the Workplace?

Age discrimination is rarely overt; there are few Illinois employers who will tell an employee that he or she is too old to hire or "We are replacing you with a younger employee." Age discrimination is usually much more subtle and, in many cases, can be unintentional. Age discrimination may even come from other employees.

Even if they are joking, and even if the "old man" does not seem bothered by it, an employer cannot allow behaviors like this to continue. While some age-discriminatory behaviors are clear, others may be less so. Some examples of age discrimination in the workplace include:

• A perception by a worker that he or she is being forced to retire or that retirement is being incentivized

• Comments from supervisors or co-workers that insinuate old age

• A company that overwhelmingly hires young employees

• Unfairly disciplining an older employee

• Company policies that have a disparate impact on older workers

• Unequal pay between younger and older workers

• Isolating older employees or having them perform less challenging tasks

• Promotion denials because of age

• Ageist stereotypes

• Advertising for a position that is specifically geared toward younger workers

• Decreased training opportunities for older workers

It is legal to ask an applicant his or her age in every state except California, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota - although it is not a good idea. A prospective employer may not make the question as obvious as "How old are you;" rather, there may be questions on the application regarding the year you graduated from high school or college. Many older workers would like to see any questions like this removed from job applications.  

What Should Employers Do?

If an employee reports other employees engaging in age discrimination, address the issue immediately. Age discrimination cases are complex because an employee must provide a higher level of proof to support a claim. Even so, business owners are legally obligated to respond to a claim of age discrimination. Meticulous record-keeping is always a good idea.

Employers will need to show that an adverse employment action resulted from poor job performance, employee misconduct, legitimate downsizing, or another business-related reason unrelated to age. If the claim concerns hiring, the employer must be able to definitively show that the best candidate for the job was chosen.  

Contact a Schaumburg, IL Employment Law Attorney

If your business is facing a claim of age discrimination, speak to a Schaumburg, IL FLSA lawyer for employers from The Miller Law Firm, P.C.. In addition to his law degree, Attorney Miller has an MBA in Finance. Call 847-995-1205 to schedule your free consultation.