Employer Liability in Age Discrimination Claims

Employers Don’t Get a Free Pass to Discriminate

You’ve worked too long and too hard to be pushed aside just because of your age. Yet for many employees over 40, that’s exactly what happens, slowly at first, then all at once. Promotions dry up. Projects get reassigned. And eventually, there’s a layoff or termination that feels like anything but coincidence.

When discrimination like this happens, it’s not just wrong, it’s illegal. And employers don’t get to walk away without answering for it.

At Horn Wright, LLP, our employment law attorneys represent New Yorkers who’ve been sidelined, pushed out, or treated unfairly because of age. If you're wondering whether your employer can be held accountable for what happened to you, the answer is yes, when the law is on your side and the facts are clear, liability follows.

When Management Knew About Age Bias and Did Nothing

It’s one thing for bias to exist in the workplace. It’s another for leadership to be aware of it, and choose to ignore it. Under both federal and state law, employer liability doesn’t just depend on who made the discriminatory comment or decision. It depends on what managers and HR did, or failed to do, once they were aware.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S. Code § 623(d), and the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(7), make it illegal for an employer to retaliate against someone for complaining about age bias. But those same laws also recognize that doing nothing when a problem is brought forward can create direct liability.

If you reported:

• Repeated comments about retirement or “younger energy”
• Patterns of being passed over or reassigned based on age
• Unequal disciplinary action or pay cuts affecting older workers

…and management took no meaningful action? That inaction may itself violate the law. Employers have a legal responsibility to investigate and stop discrimination, not just look the other way.

How Supervisors and HR Can Be Held Responsible

It’s not just the company that can be named in a claim. In New York, individual supervisors, managers, and HR personnel who directly participate in or knowingly allow age discrimination may face personal liability, something not permitted under federal law but allowed under state law.

Under N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(6), anyone who “aids, abets, incites, compels or coerces” unlawful conduct can be held accountable. This means:

• A manager who jokes about an employee’s age during evaluations
• An HR rep who dismisses legitimate complaints of bias
• A director who continues to promote only younger staff despite clear disparities

While the ADEA limits claims to employers with 20 or more employees and doesn't permit personal liability, New York's laws are more expansive. Even smaller companies—and the people working inside them, can be held responsible when they contribute to or cover up workplace discrimination based on age.

Employer Actions That Increase Legal Liability in New York

Employers who handle things poorly don’t just damage morale, they increase their legal risk. Certain behaviors, even if not directly discriminatory, can make a case against an employer much stronger. It often comes down to how they treat older workers across the board.

Here are red flags that may increase liability under the ADEA and NYSHRL:

• Inconsistent disciplinary actions applied more harshly to older employees
• Forced retirements or “buyouts” that target workers over 40
• Failure to train staff or enforce anti-discrimination policies

New York employers are expected to actively prevent discrimination and respond appropriately when it’s reported. According to N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(1), they are prohibited from engaging in discriminatory practices in job assignments, compensation, evaluations, and terminations.

What makes New York stand out is that courts and investigators take into account patterns of bias, not just isolated comments. If a company repeatedly hires, promotes, or rewards younger workers while older employees are sidelined or removed, the liability picture grows stronger.

Unlike Maine, New York Allows Individual Managers to Be Named in Some Civil Actions

If you’ve worked in different states, you’ve probably noticed how enforcement varies. In Maine, the Maine Human Rights Act doesn’t permit lawsuits against individual supervisors for discrimination. But New York law does, a significant difference if your manager was directly involved in age-related mistreatment.

New York’s Executive Law § 296(6) specifically allows civil actions against individuals who aid or abet discrimination. That includes:

• Direct supervisors
• Department heads
• HR managers who decline to act after a complaint

In practice, this means that in New York, claims don’t stop at the corporate level. If someone personally contributed to your discriminatory experience, they can be held liable in court alongside the company. That changes how cases are filed, how settlements are negotiated, and how accountability is enforced.

This is one reason why filing an age discrimination complaint in New York often results in stronger leverage, because the law allows for broader, more targeted consequences.

Holding Companies Accountable for Systemic Bias

Sometimes it’s not just one comment or one manager. It’s a culture. A long-running, top-down bias that keeps older workers off leadership tracks, out of raises, and first in line for layoffs. When age discrimination becomes part of a company’s system, liability grows in scale and seriousness.

Systemic bias can often be proven by looking at patterns across departments, years, or employee classes. You don’t have to work in HR to notice:

• A clear age gap in promotions and new hires
• Mentorship programs or training opportunities that quietly exclude older staff
• Layoffs that target older employees while preserving junior roles

Both ADEA § 626(b) and N.Y. Exec. Law § 297(4)(c) allow for legal claims involving widespread policies or unwritten practices that disadvantage workers over 40. These claims often involve multiple employees and sometimes turn into class action or group complaints.

Even without smoking-gun emails, a consistent pattern of decision-making that excludes older employees may be enough to build a claim, and hold the company legally responsible.

How to Protect Yourself While Still on the Job

If you suspect you’re experiencing age bias, but you’re still employed, you’re in a delicate position. You want to protect your job, but you also want to document what’s happening. The good news is that both state and federal laws protect your right to speak up, ask questions, and file internal or external complaints.

Here’s what you can do:

• Start keeping detailed records. Note who said what, when it happened, and how it affected your work.
• Follow up in writing. If you raise concerns verbally, send an email afterward summarizing the conversation.
• Avoid signing documents blindly. Severance offers, new contracts, or performance plans may limit your legal options.

Under ADEA § 623(d) and NYSHRL § 296(7), retaliation for reporting discrimination is illegal. If your employer starts cutting your hours, giving you poor reviews, or excluding you after you raise concerns, that’s retaliation, and it can become a second, separate claim.

Many workers fear rocking the boat, but staying silent won’t make the problem go away. If you’re worried about next steps, a conversation with an employment law attorney can give you a safe, confidential place to get clarity.

Horn Wright, LLP, Knows How to Hold Employers Responsible

When age discrimination goes unchecked, it chips away at your career, and your confidence. You’ve earned your place. You’ve done the work. And if your employer, your manager, or your HR department tried to push you out or minimize your role because of your age, they don’t just owe you an apology. They may owe you compensation.

At Horn Wright, LLP, our employment law attorneys help workers across New York stand up to discriminatory employers, and win. Whether you’re gathering evidence, preparing to file a claim, or already facing retaliation, we’re ready to fight for your future.

Find out more about how our firm earned national recognition for protecting workers’ rights and why so many turn to Horn Wright, LLP, when they need results.