The number of age discrimination complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has risen 23.5% in the last two years. This is the fastest growing category of discriminating complaints filed, increasing at a rate greater than complaints of sex, race, religion, national origin, and disability. This rapid increase coincides with the increase in the number of lay-offs in recent years due to the economic downturn.
For fiscal year 2001, there were 17,405 complaints of age discrimination filed. There was $53.7M in monetary benefits from claim settlements and resolutions during the same year (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).
The main law governing age discrimination is the 1967 federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which applies to workers who are 40 and older. Information regarding this law as well as information regarding other laws, complaint statistics and compliance assistance is available through the EEOC website
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