Years ago, I used to whine about the federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, which imposes specific requirements on employers seeking releases of claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
The ADEA prohibits discrimination based on age if the individual is 40 years old or older.
My opinion back then was that the OWBPA was almost insulting to older workers . . . like they didn’t know enough to consult with a lawyer, or read an agreement before signing it? If anything, I thought young workers were more likely to be naïve about such things because of their relative lack of experience.
But I eventually got over my bad attitude. About the time I turned 40. Jk!
Seriously, compliance with OWBPA requirements hasn’t been that hard.
"Forgive me, OWBPA?" (ED'S NOTE: Woman is not actually Robin. Man is not actually OWBPA.)
And now -- probably not for the first time -- the OWBPA has saved an employer who got sued in a case that had absolutely nothing to do with age discrimination.
OWBPA saves the day!
Our plaintiff (we’ll call her “Nancy”) was let go as part of a restructuring. Her employer gave her a release agreement, which she signed pretty soon afterward (either on the day of termination, or about two weeks after – the evidence wasn’t clear).
After Nancy signed the agreement, and presumably got her severance, she sued the employer for race and sex discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
The employer, reasonably enough, asked the court to dismiss Nancy's...
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