California Government Code Section 12940(a) states that “it is unlawful for an employer to discharge an employee solely because of his or her age.” In addition, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 explicitly prohibits discrimination against any employees or job applicants over the age of 40 years. As such, being over forty years old is one of the protected characteristics, and an employer may not discriminate against you for that characteristic.

There are several reasons why an employer may wish to terminate those people who are forty years old or older, but each boils down to money. First of all, when employees reach forty, they are usually commanding a much higher salary than their younger counterparts. Of course, the incentive to employers is to minimize all costs, which includes minimizing the amount of money paid to employee salary or wages.

Second, many employers sometimes believe that a younger workforce attracts more clientele, has more energy, or is more productive than an older one. These are all common stereotypes that many older employees face on a daily basis.

Obviously, not every comment or action from an employer qualifies as age discrimination. Often times, even identifying just one comment or one action by the employer that qualifies as age discrimination is difficult. The comments may seem like subtle jabs at the time and the actions may seem arbitrary in the moment, but when all of the employer’s comments and actions are all taken into consideration, it can become apparent that the employee is being treated differently because of his or her age.

How do you know if you are a victim of age discrimination, and what can you do about it? There are a few things you should know about age discrimination before you bring a lawsuit against your former employer. Courts have found that a basic age discrimination exists where the Plaintiff was subject to the following comments from managers, supervisors, and colleagues: that Plaintiff was “slow”, “fuzzy”, “sluggish”, “lethargic”, “obsolete”, or “too old to matter.” The court even considered employer comments referring to the Plaintiff as “old man” or “old fuddy-duddy.” In fact, even comments on Plaintiff’s alleged work ethic stating that Plaintiff “lacked energy” and did not “display a sense of urgency” were considered by the court as laying the groundwork for an age discrimination case.