In this interview with Scripps News, Attorney Andrew Lieb discusses the protections for older workers from discrimination under Federal and New York State laws. 

Key points include:

• Individuals aged 40-69 are fully protected and cannot be forced out of their positions due to age.
• Executives over 65 can be required to retire if they meet certain payment standards.
• In New York, everyone 18 and older has these protections and more.
• Companies can mandate physical or mental tests for employees if they are relevant to the job's essential functions and uniformly applied.

Attention Employees - Have you faced inferior terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of your age, race, creed, color, national original, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, or because you have opposed discrimination at work?

Did you know that you only need to prove that this discrimination rises above what a reasonable victim of discrimination with the same protected characteristic would consider petty slights or trivial inconveniences to win your claim?

Did you know that you can recover lost wages?
Are you aware that you can be reinstated into your job?
Better yet, did you know that your employer could be required to pay you punitive damages (punishment)?

Guess what? Courts have been directed to award you reasonable attorney's fees if you win. This means that your employer's exposure goes up the entire time that they are defending the claim - it's a huge motivation for your employer to settle with you quickly.

Yesterday, 8/12/19, you were given a voice by the Governor - it's time for you to use that voice and speak up to end discrimination in the workplace.

In a decision dated Nov. 6, 2018, the United States Supreme Court broadened the scope of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to cover state and local governments regardless of number of employees. Public employers must now be advised that they may be liable under the ADEA, regardless of number of employees, and face additional exposure for claims of age discrimination.

Read the full article by Mordy Yankovich, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here.