IMPORTANCE OF HIRING AN AGE DISCRIMINATION LAWYER IN LOS ANGELES
Today employees are working far longer than they may have planned on only a few years ago. Because of this, the modern workforce is filled with people in their 60’s, 70’s, or older. Yet even for individuals 40 years of age or slightly older, age discrimination can become a significant concern in the workplace.
Though illegal under federal law, age discrimination can run rampant within a company, leaving well-qualified and experienced employees facing demotions, layoffs, and unnecessary firings. Yet even if you know you have been the victim of age discrimination, you will need substantial evidence to back up your claims. To make sure you can win your case, work with an employment attorney in Los Angeles that discrimination victims turn to at Mann & Elias.
Age Discrimination Employment Act
The Age Discrimination Employment Act was created to protect job applicants and employees at least 40 years old from being discriminated against by employers based on their age. Refusing to hire or discharge a person due to their age is considered an ADEA violation. So is basing compensation or the terms and conditions of their employment based on age. If you were subject to outrages such as these, consult with age discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles.
Who Must Abide by the ADEA?
While you may think the ADEA applies to all employers in the United States, that is not necessarily true. Based on federal law, the ADEA applies to all private employers with at least 20 employees and engage in interstate commerce when conducting business. Along with this, it also applies to public employers. If you work for a small company with fewer than 20 employees you may have a more challenging time winning your age discrimination lawsuit. Nevertheless, no matter your job situation, you should always hold those responsible for age discrimination accountable for their actions. To do so, turn to ageism discrimination lawyers in LA for assistance and legal advice.
Disparate Treatment
Under the ADEA, the theory of disparate treatment may prove your age discrimination claims. Within this section you must prove intentional discrimination took place. To do so, you must show specific actions occurred, such as you were let go of your position despite being well-qualified and that a much younger employee replaced you. In addition, you must have been at least 40 years old when the event took place. To win a disparate treatment lawsuit, you need to demonstrate to the court that the legal reason took place solely due to your age.
Disparate Impact
Under the disparate impact theory, you don’t need to prove intentional discrimination took place. Instead, you would establish your employer has practices that have much more adverse effects on older workers than younger workers. Often considered challenging cases in which to prevail, you should work with an LA workers’ rights attorney who will fight hard in these cases.
By hiring the services of an attorney, you may be able to identify specific employment practices that broadly impact older workers at your company. That includes various screening tests and procedures used to single out older workers who may get paid higher wages than younger employees. With these procedures in place older workers may be getting laid off at rates much higher than younger employees, leading to a disparate impact.
Since it will take extensive examinations of employment records to uncover a pattern of age discrimination within the company, put your trust in the LA lawyers of Mann & Elias.
Employer Defenses
When you begin an age discrimination lawsuit against your employer, you can expect them to put up a vigorous defense of their employment practices. Employers will probably have vast legal resources at their disposal and could try to make the case drag on indefinitely in hopes you will get discouraged and drop your lawsuit. Once these cases begin, your employer may claim they have legitimate reasons for doing what they do.
Upper management will often attempt to shift the blame toward you as the employee. When this happens, your job performance will come under intense scrutiny, so be prepared for many things to be said about you professionally and even personally. While your employer may try to make you feel embarrassed along the way, do not let this hinder you from following through with your lawsuit. Instead, become more determined than ever and work with workplace age discrimination attorneys.
Hearings and Deadlines
Since an age discrimination lawsuit will take months to resolve, you should be present for many hearings and deadlines during the process. You will need to have as much evidence as possible to back up your claims including performance reviews and other documents detailing your ability to do your job to the highest possible standards. Make sure you and your lawyer are aware of filing deadlines with courts since missing just one could derail your case.
When you are struggling with ageism in the workplace, schedule a consultation with Mann & Elias to discuss your situation in much greater detail.