Does the ADEA protect all workers from age discrimination?
Unfortunately not; there are limits on both the employees and the employers who are covered. The ADEA only applies to employees age 40 and older–and to workplaces with 20 or more employees. But unlike several other federal workplace laws, the ADEA covers employees of labor organizations and local, state and federal governments as well as those who work in the private sector. In addition to workers employed by companies which have fewer than 20 employees, there are several other exceptions to the broad protection of the ADEA: • Executives or people ” in high policy-making positions” can be forced to retire at age 65 if they would receive annual retirement pension benefits worth $44,000 or more. • There are special exceptions for police and fire personnel, tenured university faculty and certain federal employees having to do with law enforcement and air traffic control. If you are in one of these categories, check with your personnel office or benefits plan office for details. • The big
