Kentucky and Ohio Employees over 40 years old have protections!
Kentucky and Ohio employers cannot discriminate against employees or applicants because of their age. Even if you are an at-will employee, you have rights. Generally, employees over 40 cannot be terminated, demoted, or not hire because of their age. Kentucky, Ohio, and Federal law prohibits employment discrimination because of age (over 40).
Age discrimination places employees in a difficult position that they should never have to face. Many workers begin to notice comments, decisions, or patterns that make them feel they are being judged for their age instead of their experience or skill. This can create uncertainty about their future and leave them questioning why their long history of hard work is no longer valued. We understand that dealing with age discrimination is discouraging and unfair. No employee should feel pushed aside or overlooked because of age, and it is important to know that others have faced similar treatment and have found support and solutions.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA): (29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634)
The ADEA prohibits discrimination based on the age of employees. However, it only protects employees who are 40 and over. The ADEA applies to most employers. Like most employment discrimination laws, independent contractors are not covered by the ADEA (are you an independent contractor?). Employees must file a charge with the EEOC before they file a lawsuit for violations of the ADEA.
Generally, an employer must not:
- Fail to hire an employee because of their age
- Terminate an employee because of their age
- Demote an employee because of their age
- Failure to promote an employee because of their age
- Change the conditions or privileges of an employee’s employment because of age
- Create a hostile work environment
- Retaliate against an employee who reports age discrimination or files an EEOC charge
Kentucky and Ohio have enacted statutes similar to the ADEA to protect employees who are over the age of 40. If you think your employer discriminated against you because of your age, call today for a case evaluation.
Proving Age Discrimination:
Most of the time, there is no “smoking gun” evidence of age discrimination. Courts in Kentucky and Ohio allow for circumstantial evidence of age discrimination. An employee in an ADEA case must prove that age was the “but-for” cause of the bad employment action, not just a motivating factor. (Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs., Inc., 557 U.S. 167, 177 (2009). This is a hard standard to meet.
Courts use the McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green “burden-shifting analyze” to determine if an employer discriminated against an employee because of their age. The Burden Shifting Analysis looks at other employees (who are under 40) to see if they were treated better than the discriminated against the employee.
Contact Us For A Consultation!
At Thompson Legal LLC, we are committed to fighting against employment discrimination and ensuring that all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace. Call or text us today at 502-366-2121 for a case evaluation if you have any Kentucky or Ohio employment issues.