Age Discrimination Lawyers Columbus, Ohio
If you are looking for an Columbus employment law attorney who specializes in age discrimination claims, you’ve come to the right place. The Columbus age discrimination lawyers at The Friedmann Firm in Columbus, Ohio, recognize the importance of treating employees who are over the age of 40 fairly. Unfortunately, employees over the age of 40 are often treated badly because of their age or forced to retire and replaced with younger workers. If this sounds familiar, our age discrimination attorneys in Columbus, Ohio, can help you- no matter where you live in Ohio.
What is Age Discrimination Law in Ohio
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is federal law that protects workers who are age 40 or older. The law does not protect anyone under age 40 from age discrimination. Therefore, it is legal for an employer to favor an older employee over a younger employee – even if both employees are age 40 or older. Ohio’s laws mirror the protections of the ADEA.
Ohio also has a law called the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), which provides protection for workers over 40. The OWBPA requires that older workers be provided with at least 21 days to sign and consider any type of severance package, along with an additional 7 days to revoke the offer after signing. If your employer has not given you 21 days to sign your severance package and you are over the age of 40, you may have a claim. In order to gain a better understanding of how these laws protect you and workers over 40, consult with a Columbus age discrimination lawyer today.
It is against the law for an employer to discriminate against an employee or job applicant because of the person’s age. Age discrimination involves treating an individual less favorably because of his or her age. Under state and federal law, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his or her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training. As such, age discrimination can occur to a person already employed, as well as someone applying for a job.
The ADEA also prohibits harassing individuals because of their age. Some examples of age discrimination include:
- Being passed over for a promotion in favor of a younger worker, even though you are more qualified
- Older workers being laid off, younger workers retained
- Promotion of younger workers over older workers
- Comments related to age, such as, “Aren’t you going to retire soon?” coupled with other types of discriminatory treatment
Contact our Age Discrimination Attorneys in Columbus, Ohio
It is important to realize that if you complain about discrimination based on age, your employer cannot retaliate against you. It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age, or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under the ADEA, OWBPA or Ohio laws against discrimination. It is often confusing for an employee to understand the proper steps for ensuring protection under the law, so you may need an age discrimination law firm in Columbus, Ohio to help you. Our offer free consultations so call our Columbus age discrimination attorneys today.
Our Columbus Ohio age discrimination attorneys talk to employees who are subjected to this type of treatment quite frequently. This type of conduct is unlawful and should not be tolerated. If you’ve dealt with comments like this at work or have been passed over for a promotion in favor of someone younger, call an age discrimination lawyer in Columbus today.
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