Nashville Age Discrimination Lawyer
Has your employer mistreated you due to your age? Were you passed over for a position or advancement? If so, you may have the right to seek financial compensation and other relief for what you’ve endured. A Nashville age discrimination lawyer can help you pursue your legal options under state and federal discrimination laws.
What Is Age Discrimination?
Tennessee and federal law define age discrimination as when a worker age 40 or older suffers adverse or disparate treatment in any aspect of employment, such as hiring, firing, promotions, job assignments, training, pay, or benefits. Age discrimination can also involve workplace harassment, which may include offensive or derogatory remarks about a worker’s age so severe or so frequently occurring as to alter the working conditions and create a hostile work environment.
Signs You May Be Experiencing Age Discrimination at Work
Managers and employers rarely explicitly state that they’ve made employment decisions based on a worker’s age. Therefore, you should watch for telltale signs that your work conditions result from age discrimination. Some of the top signs of workplace age discrimination include:
- Managers or company leaders begin using coded language, such as wanting “fresh faces” or “new blood” or commenting that older workers have become “set in their ways”
- An employer primarily or exclusively hires or promotes younger workers or gives younger workers better training opportunities and job assignments
- A layoff or restructuring primarily or exclusively impacts older workers
- Managers and co-workers frequently make highly offensive comments about your or other older workers’ age
- You or other older workers get excluded from meetings or office social events
- Managers/supervisors refuse to assign older workers tasks that involve computers or other technology
- Your employer encourages you or other older workers to retire or frequently inquires about your retirement plans
- Your employer places you on a performance improvement plan when you have no history of poor performance or previously received strong performance reviews
Is It Age Discrimination If I Am Under 40?
Federal age discrimination law and the discrimination statutes in many states define age discrimination as occurring against workers aged 40 or older. Congress and the states have set 40 as the limit for age discrimination because discrimination frequently affects older workers, such as when employers try to push out older workers in favor of younger replacements.
Workers under 40 who experience discrimination may still have a legal claim if the discrimination occurs due to another protected characteristic, such as race, national origin, religion, sex/gender, pregnancy, or sexual orientation.
The Process of Challenging Age Discrimination
If you’ve suffered age discrimination at work, you can protect your rights by collecting any documentation that might serve as evidence in an age discrimination claim, such as:
- Your performance reviews
- Emails/text messages
- Demographics for hiring/firing/promotion or other employment decisions
You should also contact an age discrimination lawyer as soon as possible. An attorney can determine whether you have a viable discrimination claim, gather evidence supporting your case, and pursue your legal options for obtaining financial recovery. You may have the right to recover compensation for back wages, front wages, lost employment benefits, or emotional trauma/distress.
Get Help from Our Nashville Age Discrimination Lawyer
If you believe you’ve become the victim of workplace age discrimination, get help from a Nashville age discrimination lawyer to pursue accountability and justice. Contact the Employment and Commerce Law Group today for a free, confidential case evaluation. You’ll discuss your legal options with our experienced Nashville age discrimination attorneys.
