Age Discrimination Attorneys in New York City

Employment Age discrimination in New York City is when an employer treats you poorly, harasses you, or acts unfairly against you because you are over the age of 40. Anyone over the age of 40 is considered a protected class, or a group of people that are protected by anti-discrimination laws on the federal and local levels. It is important to note that the laws do not protect anyone under the age of 40 from workplace age discrimination in New York City.

There are federal, state, and local laws that protect employees over the age of 40 from experiencing any type of discrimination for age in the workplace. The deferral law that makes it illegal to discriminate against an employee over the age of 40 in a  workplace of 20 or more employees is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Additionally, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) added an amendment to the ADEA in which the workplace is not allowed to deny benefits to employees over the age of 40.

New York State and New York City also have laws outlawing workplace age discrimination. The New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights law protect employees working for a company of 4 or more employees from being discriminated against because they are over the age of 40.

The more evidence available, the easier it is to prove your workplace age discrimination case in New York City. The hope is always to have direct evidence available for your claim. This includes an email that mistakenly copied you and negatively mentioned your age as a reason you were treated poorly. Direct evidence also includes being told that you are not being hired or are being terminated because of your age. Constant badgering to retire or forced retirement based on age is also direct evidence that your age caused the unfair treatment.

Another type of evidence you can have is evidence that shows you were treated differently from other employees because of your age. This is called disparate treatment and is often more commonly available. For instance, when you see the younger person constantly getting the promotion or the opportunities to work on more complex issues, you can use this as evidence of disparate treatment.

Finally, you may be able to show that a policy within your workplace is designed to discriminate against you because of your age. This is called disparate impact. This can include a policy that insists that every employee must retire by age 65 or a policy in which an employee who has worked for the firm for 25 years or more will be the first to be laid off if layoffs are warranted.

In order to prove your case, you will need as much information as possible. Try to keep track of any incidents of age discrimination as they occur. Write the date and time of the incident, who was involved, what was said or done, and if any other people witnessed the act. In addition, your lawyer will be able to request documents from your employer, such as:

• Your employee files
• Your annual or periodic reviews, evaluations, warnings, and complaints
• Any medical records you may have that will help your case
• Your Resume
• Your application for employment
• References from other employees and employers
• Your job description that will help demonstrate your age did not affect your ability to do your job
• Any awards or honors you received in your field and with your employer
• Records demonstrating how you progressed within the company
• Promotion and pay raise records
• Client comments
• Copies of work product

Most people who experience age discrimination in the workplace are very aware that they are being singled out or treated poorly because of their age. While some examples of workplace age discrimination are more subtle than others, most people will recognize poor treatment based on age fairly quickly. Here are some examples of what to look for when it comes to age discrimination:

• Being forced to retire if you are over 40
• A company culture of refusing to hire anyone over a certain age
• Only allowing the younger employees to work on the more lucrative projects
• Denying the older employees opportunities within the business because they are “to old” or not the “right image the firm wants to present”
• Refusing to train new employees on new products, services, or processes offered by the company
• Terminating or laying off older employees first
• Refusing to promote the older employees over the younger, and possibly less qualified, employees
• Denying you benefits because you are over the age of 40
• Making derogatory comments about age
• Consistent unwanted jokes regarding age, whether they are spoken or written
• Continually pushing an older employee to retire
• Threatening an older employee that if they do not volunteer to retire, they will be fired.
• Refusal to include older employees in the office outings, conversations, or general office banter
• Denying raises to older employees while piling on additional work

These are some examples of how age discrimination can occur in the workplace. If you experience these or other age discrimination actions, the experienced attorneys are Derek Smith Law Group are here to help.

Depending on where you wish to file your claim (federal courts or local courts) you have a specific period of time you can file the claim. This is known as a statute of limitations. Age discrimination is monitored by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which provides New York City victims 300 days to file a claim.

If, however, you choose to file your claim with the New York City Commission of Human Rights (CHR) or the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) within 1 year of the date of the last incident. If you fail to file your claim within the year, you will not be able to file your claim for workplace age discrimination in New York City.

The reason you are filing a claim about age discrimination is because you want justice. Justice comes in many forms. Some of the relief the court can provide to victims of age discrimination include the following:

• Back Pay
• Future pay (estimated lost wages and benefits)
• Reimbursement of any fees paid for medical providers helping you deal with the aftermath of the age discrimination
• Attorney’s Fees
• Removal of the person committing the discriminatory behavior in the workplace
• Review of employer policies and changing policies that make age discrimination in the workplace easier
• Punitive damages. These are the damages awarded to punish the employer for their behavior. This number can be based on the gross profit of the employer, the nature of the incidents, and whether the employer committed these actions in the past.

When you have a claim for workplace age discrimination in New York City, the case can take as little as 4 months to as many as a few years to resolve. Once you file your claim with the EEOC or DHR or CHR, the agency must conduct its investigation and issue a Right to Sue Letter. This can take as little as a month to as long as a year from your initial filing. Once you receive your Right to Sue letter, you can file a claim with the proper court. From here, the process can include one to a few meetings between both sides to come to a settlement agreement. However, if an agreement cannot be reached, the case will go to trial, which is where it could stay for a few months to a couple of years. The Derek Smith Law Group works with its clients and the other attorneys involved in the case to get the case settled in your best interests as quickly as possible.

If you are being discriminated against in the workplace for your age, here a few things you can do now to help your case go as smoothly as possible:

• If you are still working for the company, do not quick. That can hurt your case.
• Start gathering evidence
• If your company has an HR, report the age discrimination incidents to HR in writing and in person, if possible.
• If your company has an internal complaint policy, follow it. Not following it can hurt your case.
• Talk to an employment discrimination attorney immediately.

All employees and job applicants have the right to be free from age discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, training, benefits, compensation and other aspects of the employment issues. If you’re being discriminated against for your age, our experienced attorneys at the Derek Smith Law Group are here to help you. Contact us today at (212) 587-0760 for your free consultation. We do not charge until we win your case.