(Last Updated On: January 13, 2025)
State and federal laws protect job applicants and employees in Massachusetts from many different kinds of unlawful discrimination. Generally speaking, discrimination is unlawful when it is based on a protected characteristic, such as race, sex, gender, religion, national origin, disability, and age. Indeed, age is one of the protected characteristics once a person reaches the age of 40. It is essential for both employees and employers alike in Massachusetts to understand what constitutes unlawful age discrimination.
Employees should understand age discrimination laws so that they can seek a remedy in the event they face age discrimination, and employers should understand their obligations under the existing state and federal laws.
Laws Prohibiting Age Discrimination in Employment
Under both Massachusetts law and the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), it is unlawful for an employer to treat a job applicant or an employee less favorably than another job applicant or employee on the basis of being 40 years of age or older.
It is important to be clear that the term “age discrimination,” as far as it is unlawful, applies only to job applicants who are 40 or older in Massachusetts. While some states have laws that prohibit age discrimination for any age (such as for being presumed too young or too old for a position), both Massachusetts law and the ADEA apply to job applicants once they turn 40.
Common Forms of Age Discrimination in Massachusetts
Age discrimination can take many different forms in Massachusetts, including in the Boston and Natick areas. The following are some of the most common forms of age discrimination in employment:
- Advertising a job only for candidates younger than 40;
- Deciding not to hire a job applicant because they are 40 or older;
- Terminating an employee because of their age (and that age must be at least 40);
- Conducting layoffs of older employees in order to hire younger employees;
- Refusing to promote an older employee;
- Providing certain benefits or training opportunities only to younger employees;
- Demoting an older employee or group of older employees because of age;
- Making scheduling decisions and assigning preferred hours or schedules to younger employees;
- Giving a less favorable performance review based on characteristics attributed to age;
- Repeated jokes or vulgar comments in the workplace about an employee’s age and related abilities;
- Harassment on the basis of age;
- Taking any steps in an effort to get an older employee to resign or retire; and
- Retaliating against an employee who raises the issue of age discrimination or files an age discrimination claim.
Age discrimination can happen at any stage of a job application process and at any stage of employment with an employer. In addition to adverse or unfavorable actions taken against an existing employee on the basis of age, it is important to know that age-related harassment is also unlawful and can be perpetrated by co-workers, customers, clients, and more. When age-related harassment creates a hostile work environment, the targeted employee and any affected employee may be able to file a claim.
Proving Age Discrimination in Massachusetts
It is important to work with an employment law attorney on any matter involving age discrimination because the evidence in these cases can be complex. What type of evidence can be used to prove age discrimination in a Massachusetts workplace?
Generally speaking, it may be possible for employees to rely on a range of different documents or witness statements for purposes of proving an age discrimination claim. For example, an employer might have included details about the employee’s age in a performance review or in an email or other electronic communication explaining a reason that the employee was not offered a promotion, a raise, or a certain type of benefit extended to younger employees. Or, for instance, another employee in the workplace may have witnessed co-workers or an employer making frequent jokes about an employee’s age. Employees in the workplace also might have witnessed the employer commenting on job applicants’ ages and assumptions about their abilities based on age.
Both employees and employers should know that terminating an older employee and hiring a younger employee in that employee’s place is not necessarily an indication of age discrimination. Likewise, benefits offered to certain employees who tend to be younger and not offered to other employees who tend to be older are not necessarily an indication of age discrimination. An employer may have a valid reason for deciding not to hire, refusing to promote, or terminating an employee aged 40 or older.
Contact a Natick and Boston Discrimination Lawyer Today
Our Boston and Natick employment law attorneys can provide you with more information about age discrimination in employment, and we can speak with you today about any questions or concerns you have. At Rodman Employment Law, we serve both employees and employers in Massachusetts. Contact Rodman Employment Law for more information.
