§1.5 VI. A Note On Age—Adea

• Jurisdiction: New York

VI. A Note on Age—ADEA

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)¹⁴¹ is a federal statute, which provides, in relevant part:

(a) Employer practices

It shall be unlawful for an employer—

(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's age;

(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's age; or

(3) to reduce the wage rate of any employee in order to comply with this chapter. ¹⁴²

The ADEA also applies to employment agencies, labor organizations, and foreign corporations controlled by American employers.¹⁴³ The ADEA likewise contains its own anti-retaliation provision:

(d) Opposition to unlawful practices; participation in investigations, proceedings, or litigation

It shall be unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment, for an employment agency to discriminate against any individual, or for a labor organization to discriminate against any member thereof or applicant for membership, because such individual, member or applicant for membership has opposed any practice made unlawful by this section, or because such individual, member or applicant for membership has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under this chapter. ¹⁴⁴

To establish a claim under the ADEA, a plaintiff must meet the following burden (which is comparable to that under Title VII, and should be familiar to the reader by this point):

To establish a prima facie case of age discrimination under the ADEA, a plaintiff must show that: (1) he 'was within the protected age group'; (2) he 'was qualified for the position'; (3) he 'experienced [an] adverse employment action'; and (4) 'such action occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination.' ¹⁴⁵

In addition, as compared to cases of mixed-motives under Title VII, "[a] plaintiff in an ADEA case must also 'allege that [his] age was the "but-for" cause of the adverse action.'"¹⁴⁶ Stray remarks, alone, will not carry the day to establish employment discrimination,¹⁴⁷ although employers and supervisors should be very careful because a stray remark can quickly become more...