Human Resource Blog

ADEA in Ohio

What do I need to know about the ADEA in Ohio?

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act is a federal Act that may affect employees in states across the U.S. However, just because the Act is a federal Act does not mean that it will apply to all employers or to all employees. In fact, the Act only applies to certain organizations and employers. Also, the ADEA will only apply to employees of a certain age.

The ADEA applies to employees that are aged 40 or over that also work for one of the following types of employers:

·         A government agency, including a local, state, or federal government agency

·         An employment agency

·         A business that has more than 20 employees that impact interstate commerce. However, in order for those 20 employees to qualify for coverage, they need to have worked for the company for at least 20 weeks out of the previous year.

Also, employers are not allowed to discriminate against an employee based on the ADEA if the discrimination occurs because of the age of the employee. Specifically, the employer may not take age into consideration in any personnel-related decision, such as hiring, terminations, promotions, or other.

When an employee makes a job description for a particular role, the employer must hire someone that meets the requirements of that role. However, if an employee or a job applicant is unable to meet the specific requirements of a role as a result of the age of the employee, the employer may discriminate against the employee. However, the discrimination needs to be the result of the inability of the employee to meet the job requirements and not because of the age of the employee. If pressed, the employer is responsible for providing proof of the discrimination and be able to show that it occurred because of an inability and not because of an age. CB