A Brief History of Age Discrimination Law in the U.S.

Before 1967, American employers could—and routinely did—refuse to hire workers simply because they were too old. A 1965 Labor Department report found that half of all employers rejected applicants aged 45 or older. Some refused to hire anyone past their late twenties. Rapid industrial change fueled the practice: many employers assumed older workers could not adapt to modern techniques and processes.

Congress viewed age discrimination as distinct from bias based on race or religion. The problem, legislators concluded, stemmed not from hostility but from unfounded assumptions about capability. To address it, Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1967. The law took effect in June 1968.

The ADEA initially protected workers between 40 and 64. A decade later, Congress extended coverage to age 70. Yet mandatory retirement persisted—employers could still force workers out at the upper limit. That changed in 1986, when Congress removed the age cap entirely.

One gap remained. The ADEA did not prohibit employers from offering inferior benefits to older workers. Congress closed this loophole in 1990 with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), which barred age-based disparities in benefits such as health insurance and pensions.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) assumed enforcement of the ADEA in 1979 and continues to litigate age discrimination cases, with recent efforts targeting systemic discriminatory hiring practices.