Can you be fired in GA for being too old? Here’s what the law says
Georgia law puts restrictions on participating in certain parts of adulthood until a certain age is reached.
However, some questions remain on whether or not there’s a limit to how old you can be while working. Is there a required age for retirement? Can employers lay employees off for being past a certain age?
Here is what Georgia law says about enforcing age limits or singling out individuals in the workplace based on age.
Can you get fired for being too old?
Despite any contrary beliefs or previous practices by individuals or corporations, it is unlawful to be fired for being past a certain age threshold or for being “too old.” While Georgia’s labor laws deem the discharge of employees aged 40 to 70 solely based on age to be unlawful, federal law removes that upper age limit for protections.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prevents employees aged 40 and above from being discriminated against in the process of hiring, promotion, discharge, or compensation.
Georgia is considered an “at-will” state, meaning that employers can terminate employees for any reason. However, if an employee is fired, laid off or harassed for age-related reasons, they have the potential to file a claim and eventually a lawsuit against the offender.
Different from most discrimination cases in work settings, victims of intentional age or sex-based discrimination may be entitled to liquidated damages that equal the amount of back pay awarded.
What’s the difference between discrimination and harassment?
In technical terms, being discriminated against in the workplace for your age would include instances of hiring bias, stereotyping, unequal pay, exclusion, or denial of access to certain opportunities.
Within those forms of discrimination also lies harassment, which includes offensive comments, consistent teasing or any microaggressions towards an individual based on personal traits separate from work.
What to do if you’re discriminated against
If you find yourself in a discriminatory work environment based on any applicable protected characteristics, there are a few options for how you can take action. These actions include:
Going to Human Resources (HR) to report the incident
File a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Consider getting in contact with an attorney if discriminatory actions persist or escalate to a point of harassment.
Taking action can result in hiring or reinstating (in the case of wrongful termination) with potential back pay, payment of civil penalties to those affected, changing of unlawful rules or workplace practices, or a cease and desist order issued to the employer/offender.