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ADEA in Nebraska

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Are all older workers covered under the ADEA in Nebraska?

All workers and businesses are not covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. In fact, the ADEA only applies to very specific types of businesses and employees within those businesses that are over the age of 40.
In order for an employee to be covered by the ADEA, the employee needs to work for a company that has at least 20 employees and that deals in some sort of interstate commerce. Also, employees that work for employment agencies are covered, as are all local, state or federal government agencies.
When a business is covered by the ADEA, it is prohibited for the employer to discriminate against an employee based on the age of the employee if the employee is older than 40. This discrimination does not, however, include discrimination against clients or customers.
According to the ADEA, employers may not discriminate against an employee that is over the age of 40 during any hiring, firing, promoting, training or benefits periods at work. For example, an employer that is covered by the ADEA would not be able to market a particular job towards a student or a younger person, even if the employer would like to hire a younger employee for the position.
However, in the event that an older person is not able to perform the functions of a job because of the age of the employee, the employer may be able to discriminate against that employee based solely on his or her inability to perform the functions of the job. For example, an employer could legally discriminate against an employee that is unable to lift a heavy box if the job requirements call for someone that can lift a heavy box. However, it is up to the employer to prove that the discrimination was based on the performance and not on the age of the employee. CB