What is the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act?
The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) was enacted in order to prevent employers from taking advantage of older employees when compensating them for a release of claims. Under the OWBPA, an individual may not waive rights or claims arising under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) unless the waiver/release is knowing and voluntary. Waivers will not be considered “knowing and voluntary” unless they meet certain requirements. The waiver must be written in a manner that can be understood by the employee, and it must specifically refer to the rights or claims the employee is relinquishing. II. Recent Court Decision Suggests that Courts may be Willing to Invalidate Release Agreements that Force Older Workers to Relinquish Too Many Rights In Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Bull HN Information Systems, Inc., the Massachusetts Attorney General, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a terminated employee brought age-discrimination actions against an emplo
