What Is the Statute of Limitations for Age Discrimination Lawsuit in California?
The times sure are changing, and the workplace is one such institution that is experiencing an influx of change at a rate that has never been seen before in all of human history. This change is brought on by the exponential growth and advancement of technology and its implementation in the workplace. New devices, hard- and software work congruently with procedures to create more productivity and efficiency within the workplace.
Employers may falsely believe that in order to keep up with the rush of technology, they need young, spritely Millennials to enhance productivity and to make the most out of all the technology that exists in the workplace be it a simple upgrade in desktops or a brand new device. After all, most Millennials don’t even remember a time before the internet, and nearly all of them have smartphones and personal computers they use every single day. This thinking, however, puts older workers at a disadvantage. Any decision that is based solely on age is considered age discrimination and is against the law.
If you believe that you have experienced age discrimination, you have a certain time limit to file a claim against your employer. This time limit is called the statute of limitations.
We at the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group help individuals like yourself every day. We get asked many questions regarding age discrimination and the time limit they have to file a suit against their employer if they believe they are victim to such a kind of discrimination. Examples of such questions include:
- What’s the statute of limitations for age discrimination lawsuits in California?
- How long do you have to sue for wrongful termination?
- How long do you have to file an age discrimination claim?
- What’s the filing deadline for age discrimination lawsuit in California?
What Is a Statute of Limitations?
A statute of limitation is the amount of time that one has to file a lawsuit after the unlawful event took place. Most lawsuits have to be filed before this deadline in order for the legal claim to be valid – once the statute of limitations has expired, the case is not likely to be picked up. The statute of limitations depends on the type of legal claim that is being made. For example, a personal injury claim has a different statute of limitations than, say, age discrimination. Some crimes are considered to be so terrible, like murder, that a statute of limitations does not exist, and a legal claim can be charged no matter how much time has passed.
The Statute of Limitation on Age Discrimination
The statute of limitations for age discrimination depends on whether or not your proper state has its own anti-discrimination laws which protect older workers from unfair treatment in the workplace. The state of California has such protections against older workers.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal government agency which sees that employers treat their employees equally regardless of age, or any other kind of discrimination. The statute of limitations to file a charge with the EEOC is 180 days. This deadline can be extended if you work in a state that offers anti-discrimination protections for older workers.
California’s state agency is called the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). It is responsible for overseeing that their employers treat their employees fairly and does indeed have age discrimination protections. That means that the deadline to file a charge against your employer is extended to 300 days from the day you experienced the discrimination.
How Do I Know If I Am a Victim of Age Discrimination?
In a perfect world, employers would only look at an employee’s or applicant’s qualifications in order to determine whether or not they can work for them. Unfortunately, there exist many prejudices in the world and employers sometimes use these to discriminate against people for things inherent to their personhood. It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against someone based solely on their race, sex, country of origin, color, religion, and age. Older employers are sometimes subject to certain treatments which their younger counterparts do not experience in the workplace. This differential treatment is considered age discrimination. It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against their employees based on their age – specifically, if the employer is aged 40 or older.
An employer may not refuse to hire older workers, favor younger employees for things like promotions and favorable assignments/cases, or force their employees to retire once they hit the “official” retirement age. If the employee is qualified and can perform all of the essential job functions, the employer cannot overlook that employee simply because they have a few gray hairs. In addition, it is unlawful for employers not to consider or remove any promotions, raises, bonuses, benefits, and other perks simply because they are older. Employers cannot deny older workers the right to partake in training programs if younger workers in the same position are allowed or even required to take the training course.
Employers and employees cannot make offhand or insulting remarks about a person’s age whether or not the verbal assault had any malicious intent.
If you feel like your employer has treated you differently due to your age, you may have the grounds to file a lawsuit against your employer. Contact our Los Angeles lawyers for a free review of your case. Our main offices are in Los Angeles, but we are active in all of California and we can take cases from anywhere in California. If you are outside California, we also have colleagues in other states who may be able to help you.
How to File an Age Discrimination Lawsuit
In order to for you to properly sue your employer for age discrimination, you must file a charge with either the EEOC or the DFEH. These two federal and state agencies have a work-sharing agreement, which means that your charge is duplicated and sent to the other agency in order to avoid any identical charges, and is meant to protect your rights under both federal and state laws; this is known as dual filing.
If the government agency decides that you have enough basis, you can request a “right-to-sue” letter. It is recommended, however, that you and your attorney be ready to file a lawsuit as you only have 90 days to sue your employer from the day you receive the right-to-sue letter.
Free Consultation and Zero Fee Guarantee
The California Labor Waw Employment Attorneys Group is here to protect your rights if you believe that you have been a victim of age discrimination, or any other kind of discrimination for that matter. We know that when hiring legal representation, one of the first questions you may ask yourself is, “How much will your services cost?” And it is a very valid question.
We at the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group offer two things: free consultation and the zero-fee guarantee. Free consultation gives you the chance to sit with one of our lawyers, at no cost and with no financial obligation on your part, and explain why you think you’ve been a victim of age discrimination. Our attorney will then give you their initial thoughts and you’ll have the option to hire our services or not.
The zero-fee guarantee means that you will not pay for our services if we do not win your case. Many firms charge their clients whether they win or not, and if they lose it can really put the client in financial hardship. We don’t do that. If we win the case, we only charge a small fee on the amount collected. Contact the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group today!