10 Things You Should Know About Age Discrimination

The number of incidents in the workplace are increasing, new data shows

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Kimberly Palmer,

Updated August 11, 2025

AARP

En español

Published February 20, 2017

/ Updated August 11, 2025

Age discrimination is real. Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of older Americans think their age could be a barrier to getting a new job, according to a January 2025 survey from AARP Research.. If you happen to work in technology, marketing or finance industries, you may be more likely to encounter age discrimination, according to Indeed Flex..Older adults also often encounter bias in jobs that require manual labor.

While the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) makes it illegal to discriminate against workers age 40 and up, the exact rules, and how they are interpreted, aren't always clear to workers. Here are 10 important facts you should know about age discrimination:

1.) Age discrimination is illegal at any stage of employment, including during hiring, promotions, raises and layoffs. The law also prohibits workplace harassment, by coworkers, supervisors or clients, because of age. The ADEA applies to employers that have at least 20 employees; some states have stronger protections. Also prohibited: mandatory retirement ages except for some specific exemptions, such as airline pilots and public safety workers.

2.) Federal law does not prohibit employers and prospective employers from asking your age as well as your graduation date. You can opt to remove this identifying information from your résumé and LinkedIn profile , or try to redirect the question in an interview, but the ADEA does not stop a prospective employer from asking.

Recently passed state laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania do specifically prohibit questions about age during the hiring process. AARP continues to work to strengthen protections against this line of inquiry

3.) A 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it harder for older workers who've experienced proven age discrimination to prevail in court. The court said plaintiffs must meet a higher burden of proof for age discrimination than for other types of discrimination. In other words, the Supreme Court moved the law backward and sent a message to employers that some amount of proven discrimination is legally allowed.

4.) Most Americans age 50 and up — 9 in 10, according to AARP research — say they want to see Congress create stronger laws to prevent age discrimination at work

5.) Most people believe age discrimination begins when workers hit their 50s. According to a 2023 survey of employers from the Transamerica Institute, 35 percent of the respondents thought the median age when applicants were "too old" to be hired was 58. The respondents also said that 62 was the median age of someone being "too old" to work.

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6.) There's also a gender difference in the perception of age discrimination: A June 2023 Harvard Business Review report on a survey of 913 women who were leaders in their businesses, found that, “Gendered ageism sits at the intersection of age and gender bias and is a double whammy where there is ‘no right age’ for professional women.” One physician surveyed said, “While men become wells of wisdom as they age, older women are seen as outdated, harpy, strident.”

7.) Among older workers surveyed by AARP, hearing negative comments about an older co-worker’s age is the most common type of age discrimination they experienced on the job, with 25 percent of respondents citing it. Among jobseekers, 50 percent say they were asked for age-related information such as graduation dates on a job application, and 14 percent say they were not hired because of their age.

8.) You can take action. If you think you've been discriminated against, you can file a charge with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). You can also work with a lawyer to file a lawsuit. Before taking either of these steps, consider going through your company's grievance system, if it has one. Filing a lawsuit can be expensive, and there is no guarantee of victory. To bolster your case, be sure to keep a careful record of each incident of the alleged discrimination.

9.) In 2024, the EEOC received 16,223 charges of age discrimination. That’s a notable increase from the 14,144 charges reported in 2023 and the 11,500 charges reported in 2022.. The COVID-19 pandemic caused shifts among workers of all ages, especially older adults who may have paused their careers. The EEOC data suggest that more people are returning to workplaces,, age discrimination is rising once again.

10.) Contrary to stereotypes, workers age 50 and up are among the most engaged members of the workforce, according to an AARP study. Sixty-five percent of employees age 55 and up are "engaged," compared to 58 to 60 percent of younger employees. They also offer employers lower turnover rates and greater levels of experience.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with recent information about state age discrimination laws, newer data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and newer data from AARP Research.