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ADEA in North Dakota

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What do we need to know about the ADEA in North Dakota?

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act may apply to a company in North Dakota. However, even thought the ADEA is a federal Act, it does not necessarily apply to all companies in states around the country.
In order for the ADEA to apply to a company, the company needs to be a state, federal or local government agency. The company can also be an employment agency. If the company has more than 20 employees that deal in some business affecting instate commerce, then the company might also be covered by the ADEA.
When a company or agency is covered by the ADEA, the employer is prohibited from discriminating against employees that are over the age of 40. This Act does not prohibit discrimination against employees that are under the age of 40. The Act also does not prohibit discrimination against non-employees, such as customers or clients.
When an employee is making any personnel-related decisions, the company is not allowed to take age into consideration. Specifically, the employer may not discriminate against older employees when it hires employees, or make decisions about employees that are already with the company, such as decisions about terminations, training, pay, or promotions.
There are some situations in which the age of the employee will directly or indirectly affect his or her ability to perform the required functions of a job. For example, if an employee wishes to be employed in a position that requires that the employee be able to lift at least 50 pounds and the employee cannot lift 50 pounds because of his or her age, then the employer would be able to discriminate against the employee based on the inability of the employee to meet the job requirements. However, it is up to the employer to prove that the discrimination occurred because the employee was unable to meet the job requirements and not because of the age of the employee. CB