Articles Posted in Age

An employee in his early sixties worked under several managers, one of whom referred to the employee as “my b***h,” “motherf****r,” “old fart,” and “old motherf****r.” Upon seeking a raise, another manager told him that he was making too much money already and that “knowledge [did] not matter.” The employee interpreted this as an ageist comment because knowledge comes with age. Sometime later, two of his managers told him the company was “getting rid of the older guys,” which the employee understood as a threat that the company would try to push him out. Continue reading

Last month, I explained how easy it is for an employee to plead a discrimination claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Yet, last night, I read an opinion in which the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had to correct not one but two judges on the pleadings standards. Continue reading

A plaintiff claiming age discrimination at work must ultimately prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that age was the ‘but-for’ cause of whatever adverse employment action the plaintiff claims to have suffered.

However, a recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision reminds us that merely pleading allegations of age discrimination is easy, like Sunday morning.  Continue reading

In employment discrimination cases where a defendant-employer articulates a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the employment action, the plaintiff has the burden then shifts to the plaintiff-employee to establish that the employer’s reason was a pretext for discrimination, i.e., the defendant’s reason for, say, terminating the plaintiff’s employment is false. Continue reading

Employment lawyers and human resources professionals regularly preach that managers must document employee performance issues as a best practice so that if/when that manager wants to terminate the employee, the company has the “receipts” to justify the decision. Continue reading