ADEA

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, also known as the ADEA, applies to employers with 20 or more employees and is geared toward protecting individuals over the age of 40 against employment discrimination. Specifically, you cannot discriminate on the basis of age by hiring younger employees because they are younger, paying an older person less because the employee is older, or terminating an older employee before a younger employee because the older employee is older. The ADEA does say, however, that it is not unlawful for you to observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system.

There are exceptions to the ADEA that allow you to require that an applicant be of a certain age. These exceptions are known as bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQs). BFOQs are rarely used because they are exceedingly difficult to justify.

The ADEA affects the following areas of employment specifically: job advertisements, job qualifications, hiring decisions, job applications, interviews, discipline, and termination.