How to prove age discrimination?

[Gary Antonich]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? ILLINOIS. Since Illinois is a right to work state, a person can be let go unless contracted with the employer. As an employee who was becoming close to being vested in the company's retirement plan and saved all personal emails(weekly) from the owner stating what a wonderfull job etc; then terminated later that year without written justification..... I also realize that written justification is not needed, but......what is needed as proof? I was 50 at the time and no one has ever been vested in the company.....

You don't need to step in it if you know what it is.... Is there any recourse? Or is this just the way things go?

Thanks

 

[Gary Antonich]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? ILLINOIS. Since Illinois is a right to work state, a person can be let go unless contracted with the employer. As an employee who was becoming close to being vested in the company's retirement plan and saved all personal emails(weekly) from the owner stating what a wonderfull job etc; then terminated later that year without written justification..... I also realize that written justification is not needed, but......what is needed as proof? I was 50 at the time and no one has ever been vested in the company.....

You don't need to step in it if you know what it is.... Is there any recourse? Or is this just the way things go?

Thanks

Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes he eats you.

 

[longneck]

Since Illinois is a right to work state,

wrong Illinois is not a right-to-work state. illinois is an at-will employment state.

 

[cbg]

To the OP: Right to work means that you cannot be forced to join a union in order to get work. Longneck is correct that what you are trying to say is that Illinois is an employment at will state.

To Longneck: You are correct that Illinios is not a right to work state. However, right to work and employment at will are not mutually exclusive. Since 49 out of fifty states are employment at will, and since the one that is not, is not a right to work state either, it can truthfully be said that every state that is right to work, is ALSO employment at will.

 

[Gary Antonich]

Thanks, but.......

Illinois. How does one proceed with the burden of proof being on me? Is it a labor board issue? Civil Court? How about a comment steering me in that direction, please.

 

[cbg]

It's a issue for the EEOC and/or the discrimination/civil rights board of your state. While you do not need proof (if you file a claim with them, they'll investigate on your behalf) you do need to initially show them some kind of connection between your age and the termination. It is possible to be legally terminated in spite of being 50, in spite of having proof of good performance, in spite of any vesting in the pension plan. What you need is something to indicate to the EEOC that you were termed BECAUSE OF your age.

If there are other 50+ workers there, it will be very difficult for you to show that your age was the deciding factor. On the other hand, if everyone gets laid off when they reach 50, that's pretty good evidence.

 

[Gary Antonich]

Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to email me with your suggestions. No wonder you never hear of many cases, too hard to prove.