Greenville’s Lawyer for Age Discrimination (ADEA)

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prevents South Carolina employers from engaging in employment discrimination on the basis of an employee’s age, and it applies to employees who are over the age of 40. Employers cannot make their decisions, like hiring, firing, or promoting, based on an employee’s age. The law is intended to protect employees who are perfectly capable of performing their duties competently, but who are being replaced or passed over in favor of younger, often less qualified, people. However, the ADEA only applies to employers with 20 or more employees.

The ADEA also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for complaining to HR or a manager about age discrimination or for filing a charge of age discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Retaliation typically comes close in time after an employee complains about age discrimination and often takes the form of termination, suspension, demotions, or disciplinary actions. Many age discrimination claims are accompanied by a retaliation claim, as companies often get angry when an employee complains about discrimination in the workplace.

Like other types of discrimination claims (race, sex, religion, national origin), a South Carolina employee has only 300 days from the date of discrimination or retaliation to file a charge with the EEOC, or else the claim is barred. Speak with an experienced South Carolina Discrimination Lawyer today about your legal options.