Congress amended the Act in 1978 to extend protection to 70 years of age, and further amended it in 1986 to abolish mandatory retirement at any age by removing the upper limit on the protected age group under the statute. Policy It is unlawful for an employer to fail or refuse to hire, to discharge, or otherwise to discriminate because of age against any individual who is at least age 40 with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. This includes practices that are neutrally applied with no intent to discriminate, but which have a discriminatory impact on older employees or applicants and are not justified by business necessity. It is also unlawful to limit, segregate, or classify employees, or to classify or refuse to refer for employment any individual, in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual who is at least 40 years of age of employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect his or her status as an employee or as an applicant for employment, because of such individual's age. It is also unlawful to run help-wanted advertisements that indicate any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on age.
Differentiation is based on reasonable factors other than age.
Differentiations are based on the terms of a bona fide seniority system or bona fide employee benefit plan such as a retirement pension, or insurance plan which is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of the Act. An employee is discharged or otherwise disciplined for good cause.