Running head: THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967 1
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Samantha Jackson, Andy Rader, and Pamela A. Reekes
Averett University
Human Resource Management
BSA 435
Mike Jernigan, PhD
September 11, 2014
THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967 3
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 19
Introduction (Andy)
The United States Economy has experienced a recession, and although the economy is
recovering, companies are still downsizing. Due to the downturn in the economy, people have to
work later in life. Workers have made the decision to put off retirement in lieu of what has
happened to the economy. Older workers are deciding to enter the work force again because
they realized that the money they saved for retirement was not enough. Age discrimination is a
troubling problem in the United States. Elderly individuals are often denied employment or are
treated unfairly by employers. In order to address this serious issue, Congress passed the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1967. The ADEA is federal legislation that
prohibits age discrimination by employers. It forbids employers from discrimination against any
individual over the age of forty based upon his/her age[ CITATION Eld13 \l 1033 ].
The ADEA was established as a direct result of the passage of Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act. Title VII explicitly prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, sex,
national origin or religion. The ADEA is essentially the counterpart to Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act (1964) [ CITATION Eld13 \l 1033 ]. The Equal Pay Act in 1965 directed the
Secretary of Labor to research and recommend policy decision for “legislation to prevent
arbitrary discrimination in employment because of age.” The report finding showed that
discrimination due to age did exist; however, not at the level of that based on sex or race. The
report found that age discrimination resulted from beliefs that age had an effect on the ability of a
person to perform his or her job, and did not necessarily consider the abilities of the individual,
thus leading to “arbitrary discrimination” [ CITATION Eld13 \l 1033 ].
THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967 4
Following the conclusion of the study, Congress passed the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
the ADEA was established to “promote employment of older persons based on their ability rather
than age; to prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment; [and] to help employers and
workers find ways of meeting problems arising from the impact of age on employment”
[ CITATION USE \l 1033 ].
The ADEA covers most individuals that are over the age of 40 years old. ADEA applies
to current employees, applicants for employment, or former employees. The ADEA provides
protection to employees 40 years of age and older. The ADEA applies to private employers with
20 or more workers and labor unions with 25 or more membersWhen the law was established in
1967 it initially provided an age cap of 65 years old. The United States Congress removed the
upper age cap in 1983 [ CITATION Eld13 \l 1033 ]. The law now provides protection to all
older workers no matter how long they decide to be in the work force.
Since the Age Discrimination in Employment Act on 1967 was enacted there have been
several changes. The first changes to the law occurred in 1974, when the law was extended to
include Federal, State, and local government employers. Also the ADEA was changed to apply
to employers with 20 or more employees. Previously the law only applied to employers with 25
or more employees (Elder Law, 2013).
In 1982, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) amended the ADEA, to
include the working age clause. The amendment required employers to keep their over-65
workers on the company health plan rather than shifting them to Medicare. Previous law
required that Medicare was the primary provider and private health care plans were secondary.
In 1984, amendments to the ADEA were contained in the 1984 reauthorization of the
THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967 5
Older Americans Act. The 1984 amendments extended protection under the ADEA to U.S.
citizens working for U.S. employers in a foreign country.
In 1986, the ADEA was amended to extend the protection under the law to people over
the age of 70 years old. The amendment made it illegal for employers to stop health coverage for
people over the age of 70 if the company offered health coverage to younger employees
[ CITATION Jes \l 1033 ].
In 1990, Congress passed another Act that further protected older workers. Congress
passed the 1990 Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) which amended the ADEA.
The OWBPA prohibited employers from not giving benefits to older employees due to the
possible health issues that come with aging. Congress realized that companies were incurring
additional costs to provide benefits to older workers than those of younger workers. The
increased cost in benefits may create an incentive to hire younger workers. Due to increased
costs, in certain circumstances, an employer can be allowed to reduce benefits because of age, as
long as the reduced benefits’ cost is equal to the cost of those that are provided to the younger
workers. Since many older workers qualify for Medicare or similar state-sponsored healthcare
benefits, employers can coordinate with the employees to use those government or state provided
programs [ CITATION Eld13 \l 1033 ].
In January of 2009, President Obama signed into law The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Although the Act mainly dealt with fair pay for women and other minorities, it did change the
statute of limitations for a worker’s claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. In
order for an employee to file a claim based on age discrimination, it must be filed within three
years. Time begins to run on the date that the unlawful behavior occurred [ CITATION USE \l
1033 ].
THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967 6
There are many exceptions to the ADEA. First, employers can use age as employment
criteria if the employer can justify the use. The company must make evident that an employee’s
age is a bona fide occupational requirement, and is necessary in order to perform the job
[ CITATION Eld13 \l 1033 ]. An example of this is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
states that air traffic controllers must be hired before an applicant’s 31st birthday. The FAA has
proven that the job requires a younger employee.
The second exception in the ADEA relates to employee benefit plans. It costs a
company more to provide fringe benefits to older employees as opposed to providing benefits to
younger employees. Younger employees usually have less health issues, and are many years
away from retiring. The ADEA allows companies to provide a different benefit plan to different
age groups. An example is that an employer may provide $3,000 of health insurance coverage
