As a society, we espouse many different principles such as “respect your
elders.” Yet, in reality such statements are merely slogans or sayings that are
simply not put into practice. Rather, our society appears to be focused on youth
and staying young, to the detriment of the wisdom gained over time. Nowhere is
this more prevalent than in the employment context.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) was enacted to
prevent such attitudes from permeating the employment context. ADEA applies
to employers with 20 or more employees. ADEA protects employees 40 years of
age or older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion
compensation, termination or other terms and conditions in employment.
Many counties also have ordinances that provide additional rights. For
example, some counties in Florida have ordinances that also make it unlawful for
an employer to discriminate because of an employee’s age.
Florida has also enacted the Florida Civil Rights Act to protect certain
individuals from discrimination. The Florida Civil Rights Act applies to
employers with 15 or more employees. It makes it unlawful for an employer to
discharge, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against an individual with
respect to compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employments because
of age.
Victims of age discrimination may be able to obtain reinstatement or
monetary damages, as well as, their attorney fees and costs. If you have suffered
from age discrimination in the workplace, please contact the employment lawyers
at LaBar & Adams, P.A. in Orlando at 407-835-8968 or fill 0ut the online form
located on our website.
