Age Is Just a Number. Age Discrimination Is Trickier.

The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects people 40 and older. But is it ageism to discriminate against people over 50 compared with those in the 40-to-50 bracket? A federal appeals court has said yes -- but because several other circuit courts have said no, the case is very likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court in the near future. The issue raises questions about how discrimination should be measured when it might exist along a continuum.

As written, the age-discrimination act looks like other provisions of civil-rights law that prohibit discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Indeed, its key language was copied from Title VII with the word “age” substituted for the other characteristics.