The majority of people are familiar with some aspects of sex and race discrimination law in the workplace. However, only a small number of them are aware of age discrimination legislation. This is quite natural because the law related to this specific kind of discrimination that occurs in the workplace is relatively new. The federal law related to age discrimination was introduced in the 1980’s. However, every state has its own specific age discrimination legislation and Arizona is not an exception.

The legal side of the problem with Age Discrimination in Arizona

In the State of Arizona, the Arizona Civil Rights Act makes unlawful any employment practice which discriminates against employees or applicants who are over the age of 40. The state Civil Rights Act applies to employers that have at least 15 employees.

Example of unlawful age discrimination includes the following:

First of all, it is unlawful to fire an employee or to refuse to hire a candidate or to discriminate an employee in terms of compensation, job conditions and terms or benefits based on their age. It’s also unlawful to segregate, limit or categorize employees and candidates for employment in a way that will provide them fewer benefits and few chances of success based on their age.

Furthermore, under the Arizona Civil Rights Act, it is completely unlawful to discriminate against any job candidate or employee due to the fact that they have refused to get involved in an activity that is unlawful. It’s also unlawful to publish and share ads and notices for employment that include discrimination based on age.

Whenever a job applicant or an employee believes that he or she is discriminated due to their age, they can file a discrimination lawsuit. There are two ways in which they can do this. First of all, they can file a lawsuit with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity). The other method is to file a lawsuit with the Arizona Attorney General. In both cases, there is a specific period of time when they can file a lawsuit like this. Once this time has passed they can’t process the lawsuit.

Even though this process is not very complex, it is best to use professional help. It can be quite difficult to prove age discrimination and a huge number of these cases leave the organizations and responsible individuals unpunished. Obviously, an expert in the field of labor relations is the right person for this activity. The Law Office of Phillip A. Austin provides expertise of this kind for the greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area.

Age discrimination in the workplace is a serious legal issue that people should take seriously.

Please contact me if you have an age discrimination case at 480-644-0506.