Westwood Age Discrimination Lawyer

Westwood Age Discrimination Attorney

Employers in Westwood and other Los Angeles communities are required by law to engage in fair employment practices. Allowing or incentivizing workplace discrimination based on age is prohibited in California and can lead to serious legal and financial consequences. A capable Westwood age discrimination lawyer can assist you in your age discrimination case.

If you have suffered from age discrimination at your workplace, the trusted employment law attorney at the Law Offices of Miguel S. Ramirez can help you obtain the justice you deserve. Our welcoming and communicative approach to employment discrimination cases ensures our clients are kept informed as we dig deep into the facts and fight tenaciously for them.

What Does Workplace Age Discrimination Look Like?

Both the U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibit an employer from making employment decisions based on an employee’s or candidate’s age if they are 40 years or older.

Hiring and Firing: Refusing to hire someone and firing employees solely based on their age constitutes age discrimination. This can also apply to layoffs, where older employees are let go in favor of younger employees.

Wages and Benefits: Assigning lower wages or fewer benefits on the basis of age is an unlawful employment practice. Older employees should not be barred from promotions or victims to demotions based on their age.

Nature of Tasks: Segregating employees based on age or assigning unfavorable or less meaningful tasks to older employers due to their age can be deemed discrimination.

Harassment: Older employees are protected from harassment of any kind. Negative comments or actions that focus on a person’s age, if they are older than 40, and lead to a hostile work environment are forms of age discrimination as well. This is also applicable if an older employee is fired because of ageist comments and teasing.

Whether repeated incidents or isolated events, actions, or comments can be considered age discrimination may not always be clear. Typically, the use of stereotypes or assumptions made about an older person may lead to less favorable treatment and are, thus, unlawful, including comments referencing an older person’s physical or mental capacity.

Speaking with a knowledgeable age discrimination attorney in your area is a good way to assess whether certain actions or comments fall under the umbrella of age discrimination. A person over 40 can face discrimination at work from another person who is 40 and older as well.

Older employees are also protected from forced retirement. California laws over the past few decades have done away with many age-related retirement requirements. There may, however, be certain employers who might request health evaluations for older employees if the job has specific physical requirements. For example, safety officers or other law enforcement.

A Qualified Employment Discrimination Attorney Can Assist You

It is imperative that you consult an age discrimination lawyer in Westwood who is adept at handling employment discrimination cases if you have been subjected to age discrimination throughout the job application process or in your place of employment.

A skilled Westwood age discrimination lawyer can help you with the following:

• Assessing the facts of your case and determining which legal action to pursue, if any.
• Helping you gather and document evidence of age discrimination.
• Assisting you in filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Civil Rights Department (CRD).
• Negotiating with your employer on your behalf.
• Representing you in court if your age discrimination case proceeds to trial.
• Ensuring you and other witnesses in your case are protected from retaliation by your employer for participating in a discrimination complaint or case.

A qualified employment discrimination attorney with years of practice can help you navigate the administrative and legal processes of a complaint or case. They can go head to head with opposing counsel and fight tirelessly to help secure your employment rights and hold employers accountable for allowing or engaging in the creation of a hostile work environment.

Success in an age discrimination case may entitle you to restitution for lost wages and can lead to securing a job you applied for if qualified or being reinstated if you were let go from the job. You may also be able to obtain compensation for any emotional harm suffered due to the hostile work environment.

FAQs

Q: Can You Sue for Age Discrimination in California?

A: You may be able to sue for age discrimination in California if there is evidence that a hostile work environment exists due to age discrimination or that age discrimination is the reason you were terminated or not given a certain benefit. An attorney can provide better insight into what it takes to prove age discrimination in court. You may need to file a complaint with the EEOC or the CRD and obtain a right-to-sue letter before pursuing a case.

Q: How Much Is an Age Discrimination Case Worth?

A: How much an age discrimination case may be worth depends on the nature of the allegations and what you and your attorney can prove in court. If you were let go from your position due to age discrimination, you may be entitled to lost wages. For more egregious acts, higher compensation may be sought if you are able to prove emotional harm.

Q: How Hard Is It to Prove an Age Discrimination Case?

A: Proving an age discrimination case may be difficult if there is not enough evidence. The First Amendment protects our rights to free speech, and negative comments in and of themselves may not be enough to prove age discrimination. It is necessary to prove that comments related to your age or decisions made based on your age, if over 40, created a hostile work environment and impacted you negatively.

Q: How Do You Sue for Age Discrimination?

A: To sue for age discrimination, speak with a qualified attorney who understands employment discrimination laws in California and is adept at handling these types of cases in court. You may file a complaint with the EEOC or the CRD or obtain a right-to-sue letter and take the case directly to a California court.