• Employers cannot discriminate against employees because they are 40 years old.workplace b image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
  
  Employer age discrimination became illegal when the federal Age Discrimination Act was enacted in 1967. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the act forbids prejudicial treatment of any employees because they are 40 years old or older. Violations of the law can lead to substantial financial penalties for an employer. In some cases, criminal charges can be brought against individual managers if age discrimination occurs within a company.
  
  

Back Pay

• If a court of law finds that an employer discharged an employee or treated an employee in a prejudicial manner due to advanced age, the employee may be eligible for back pay. Back pay includes all pay that would have been received had the prejudicial incident never occurred.
  
  

Reinstatement

• Unless the employer can prove that an employee was fired for just cause instead of age discrimination, the employer will have to rehire the worker, should a court rule in the worker's favor. If an employer informs the court that the worker was terminated for poor performance, the employer must show evidence such as poor performance evaluations, incident reports logging unprofessional conduct or documentation of tardiness, absenteeism, violations of company policy, or consistent complaints from customers.
  
  

Damages

• An employer may have to pay damages equal to the back pay that he owes an employee, if the judge or jury finds that the discrimination against the employee was willful and without regard for the law. This penalty is in addition to back pay.
  
  

Court Costs

• If an aggrieved employee wins an age discrimination case, a judge may also require the employer to pay the worker's attorney fees and other associated court costs.
  
  

Criminal Consequences

• According to the Department of Labor, an employer who attempts to physically interfere with an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agent's age discrimination investigation may face criminal charges. Moreover, additional criminal charges can be brought if the interference is in the form of intimidation. An employer's representative could face a $500 fine, imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or both. Incarceration will come only if the employer or employer's agent is a repeat offender.