What do companies need to know about ADEA?
Latham: The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. The ADEA generally makes it unlawful to include age preferences, limitations or specifications in job notices or advertisements. However, a job notice or advertisement may specify an age limit only in the rare circumstances where age is shown to be a “bona fide occupational qualification” reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business. The ADEA does not specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicant’s age or date of birth. But because such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age, requests for age information will be closely scrutinized to make sure the inquiry was made for a lawful purpose, rather than for a purpose prohibited by the ADEA. Therefore, we often advise
