Los Angeles Age Discrimination Lawyer
If you are dealing with age discrimination at work, California law gives you the right to fight back. Attorney Sam Setyan represents employees only, never employers, and handles every case personally, from the first call to the final settlement or verdict.
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- No case costs if we lose
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Replaced by a younger hire, pushed toward retirement, or suddenly written up after years of strong reviews? Setyan Law APC – Wrongful Termination & Sexual Harassment Lawyer represents Los Angeles employees and job applicants who were treated worse because of their age. As a Los Angeles age discrimination lawyer who represents workers only, never employers, we pursue lost pay, emotional distress damages, and the attorney fees California law allows.
When you hire Sam Setyan as your age discrimination attorney, you work directly with him from your first call to the end of your case. Your consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee unless we win.
What Counts as Age Discrimination in California?
Under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), age discrimination happens when an employer treats a job applicant or employee age 40 or older less favorably because of age. We see it at every stage of a career, including:
Age discrimination in the workplace does not have to be intentional to be illegal. California recognizes disparate impact claims, so a policy that appears neutral, such as cutting the highest-paid positions, can still be unlawful if it disproportionately affects workers over 40 and is not justified by business necessity.
Since January 1, 2025, FEHA has also expressly covered discrimination based on a combination of protected traits, such as being an older woman.
Ageism in the Workplace Often Hides Behind Code Words
Few employers say "you're too old" out loud. It usually shows up in softer language that points the same way:
One remark alone may not prove a case, but these phrases often signal older-worker discrimination, especially when they come from the people who decide who stays and who goes.
Age Discrimination Laws in California: Who Is Protected?
Two main laws protect older workers in Los Angeles, and if you are 40 or older, you likely fall under one or both. We review which law gives you the strongest path forward.
For most Los Angeles workers, FEHA is the stronger law. It covers smaller employers, allows emotional distress and punitive damages that the ADEA does not, and requires you to show that age was a substantial motivating factor, rather than the deciding factor the ADEA requires.
Age is one of several protected classes under California employment law, and age claims often overlap with disability, sex, or race claims. If you faced bias for more than one reason, our Los Angeles workplace discrimination lawyer can explain your broader rights.
What If I'm Under 40?
Neither FEHA nor the ADEA protects workers under 40 from age discrimination, and neither law stops an employer from favoring older workers over younger ones. If you were treated unfairly for being "too young," you may still have a claim if the real reason was another protected trait, such as pregnancy, disability, or national origin, or if you were punished for reporting discrimination.
Age Discrimination Examples in Los Angeles Workplaces
Age bias looks different depending on where you are in your career and what your employer has planned. We handle age claims in every industry, from entertainment and tech to health care and manufacturing.
Age Discrimination in Hiring
California regulations prohibit job ads that discourage applicants 40 and older, such as postings seeking "young," "college student," or "recent college graduate" candidates. Employers generally cannot ask for your age, date of birth, or graduation dates during the application or interview process, and they cannot use online applications or automated screening tools that weed out older applicants.
Hiring software is an increasingly common source of age claims. In 2023, iTutorGroup agreed to pay $365,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging its software automatically rejected female applicants 55 and older and male applicants 60 and older. Learn more about illegal interview questions in California and bias in AI hiring tools.
Layoffs That Target Older Workers
Layoffs are one of the most common settings for age bias. Warning signs include a reduction in force that falls mostly on workers over 40, a job that is "eliminated" and then quietly refilled by someone younger, or cuts based on salary that sweep out the most experienced staff.
California Government Code § 12941 states that using salary to decide who to terminate may be age discrimination when it adversely affects older workers as a group.
If you are 40 or older and offered severance in exchange for waiving age claims, federal law generally gives you at least 21 days to consider the agreement (45 days in a group layoff) and seven days to revoke it after signing. For broader layoff questions, see our posts on the rise in 2026 layoffs and the WARN Act.
Forced Retirement and Pressure to Leave
Most California employers cannot force you to retire at a set age. Narrow exceptions apply to certain high-level executives 65 and older who receive a substantial retirement benefit, and to some physicians.
Repeated questions about your retirement plans, a buyout framed as your "last chance," or being stripped of duties until staying feels impossible can all point to age discrimination. When conditions become so intolerable that you feel forced to quit, the law may treat your resignation as a constructive dismissal.
Fired for Being Too Old
Losing your job because of your age rarely comes with an honest explanation. More often, an employee with years of strong reviews suddenly receives poor evaluations, is placed on a performance plan, or is told the company is "going in a different direction." Then the job goes to someone noticeably younger.
In Reid v. Google, an engineer in his 50s was called "slow," "fuzzy," and "old man" by a supervisor and coworkers, then let go as "not a cultural fit." The California Supreme Court held that those comments could be weighed as evidence of age bias. If you were let go, our wrongful termination lawyer page explains your rights.
How to Prove Age Discrimination at Work
Few employers admit age played a role, so most cases rely on circumstantial evidence. We use the framework California courts apply, which starts by showing that:
The employer must then give a legitimate reason for its decision, and the case often turns on proving that reason is pretext, a cover story for bias. An experienced ageism lawyer looks for the pattern. Helpful evidence includes:
Write down what happened while it is fresh, keep copies of anything you are allowed to keep, and do not sign a severance agreement before having it reviewed. Our guides on proving workplace discrimination and collecting evidence go deeper.
Filing Deadlines for Age Discrimination Claims
Most age discrimination claims must start with a government agency before you can sue, and the clock usually starts on the date of the discriminatory act. We track these deadlines from your first call:
| Deadline | What it applies to |
|---|---|
| Three years | To file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) under FEHA |
| One year | To file your lawsuit after the CRD issues a right-to-sue notice |
| 300 days | To file an ADEA charge with the EEOC in California |
| 60 days | The minimum wait after filing an EEOC charge before you can file an ADEA lawsuit |
| 90 days | To file an ADEA lawsuit after the EEOC notifies you that it has dismissed or closed your charge |
Severance offers carry their own short review windows, so act quickly if you have one. For more detail, see our CRD complaint timeline, our guide to meeting FEHA's statute of limitations, and our walkthrough on how to file a workplace discrimination lawsuit.
What You Can Recover in an Age Discrimination Lawsuit
The value of an age discrimination lawsuit depends on your pay, how long it takes to find comparable work, and how your employer behaved. Damages can include:
Every age discrimination settlement is different, and prior results never guarantee a future outcome. Our posts on age discrimination lawsuits, employment discrimination settlements, and EEOC case victories show what has driven recoveries in other cases.
How Sam Setyan Turns Quiet Age Bias Into Clear Evidence
When you need an age discrimination lawyer Los Angeles employers take seriously, Sam Setyan handles your case himself. Setyan Law prepares every case for trial from day one, because employers pay closer to full value when they know you are ready for court.
Sam has handled more than 500 employment cases, including a federal jury verdict against Costco Wholesale. He knows employers defend age cases with performance files, "restructuring" memos, and tight severance deadlines. Here is what we do for you:
Los Angeles Age Discrimination FAQs
Your Experience Still Counts
The deadlines for age discrimination claims start running the day the decision is made. Contact Setyan Law to speak with Sam about what happened. Tell us your employer, what changed, and when. Your information stays confidential, and the consultation is free.