Getting older is fraught with different issues, such as health and finances. But one of the most difficult to deal with is the one form of discrimination nobody wants to talk about: ageism, or age discrimination.
Ageism and age discrimination
Discrimination against individuals based solely on their age is all but accepted and acceptable, especially in the workplace. Terms like geezer, senior citizen, and other derogatory terms along with unflattering media images enforce the negative stereotyping that comes with getting older.
Mark Zuckerberg once stated, “Younger people are smarter.” But is it true?
Stereotypes, learned ageism, and other factors have kept organizations like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) working to protect the rights of individuals over the age of 40 from being ignored and violated. In Colorado, the unemployment rate is one of the country’s lowest, one third of the state’s population is over the age of 50. But it hasn’t stopped anyone from being subjected to ageism, even in a labor market that’s hiring.
Incorrect stereotypes are partly responsible. Misconceptions about older workers include:
They’re not up on new technology, including smartphones, can’t use it and are afraid of it
They’re not willing to learn and accept change
They can’t keep up with younger workers
They’re sickly, unhealthy and have lots of health problems.
But studies into modern aging show that these are incorrect. Workers over 50 are more engaged, have greater levels of experience and low turnover rates. There are other benefits to hiring older workers as opposed to someone who just graduated from high school or college as well, like reliability.
That still doesn’t help when you find yourself terminated or unemployed over 50 and unable to find another job.
Age discrimination in Colorado
More than 20% of all workers in the US are over the age of 55, more than 33 million people.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) makes it illegal for private employers and governmental agencies to discriminate against workers over the age of 40.
Colorado also has its own Anti-Discrimination Act prohibiting ageism and discrimination as well as other factors. However, federal anti-discrimination laws includes employers with 15 or more employees. Colorado’s civil rights statute includes all employers, regardless of size or number of employees.
While it most often is inflicted by supervisors or managers, age-related comments by any employees that create a hostile work environment can be considered age discrimination and/or harassment.
The AARP reports that 1 in 5 claims made to the EEOC are specifically for age discrimination. Individuals born between 1946 through 1964, the so called “baby boomers,” are the fastest growing group filing these claims.
The AARP also reports that nearly 66% of older adults have either experienced or witnessed ageism and discrimination in the workplace.
Lack of employment is one of the biggest indicators of age discrimination in Colorado and nationally: although it is still legal for an employer to ask your birth date or date of graduation, it’s not legal to use it in a hiring decision. Still, job seekers over 50 are routinely not hired, passed over for promotion, or outright laid off and/or fired.
Age discrimination can happen at any age
Ageism and discrimination isn’t always about someone over 50 — it can also happen to women of childbearing age.
Refusing to hire women who “are able to get pregnant” is not only age discrimination, it’s also a form of gender discrimination. It’s also illegal to fire a female due to her pregnancy.
How can I fight back?
If your employer asks you to sign an ADEA waiver, speak to an attorney before you do.
You can fight against age discrimination, but it is a long, arduous fight. You can file an EEOC claim, but before you do, consider talking with a Denver, CO civil rights attorney who specializes in age discrimination.
Proving age discrimination can be difficult. The Civil Rights Litigation Group is dedicated to ensuring that every Colorado resident is protected from discrimination and other civil rights violations. Call today for your free consultation, or use our online contact form to schedule your appointment.
A police officer stops you after you didn’t see a stop sign. He asks for your license and registration (or insurance.) You comply with the officer, but a few minutes later, drug-sniffing dogs are inside and around your car. What brought this on? Is it illegal search and seizure?
What is illegal search and seizure?
In simple terms, it means a search and seizure conducted by law enforcement with neither probable cause that a crime is being committed or a warrant to conduct the search.
This type of behavior is illegal under the Fourth Amendment, which protects American citizens from improper or illegal search and seizure.
Additionally, any evidence that’s gathered from an illegal search and seizure is not admissible in court, under a doctrine known as “Fruit Of The Poisonous Tree.” Under the decision in Mapp Vs. Ohio, 347 U.S. 643 (1961), evidence gathered during an unconstitutional search is inadmissible in a state court criminal trial.
You can inform officers that if they do not have probable cause or a warrant, you do not consent to a search. If your car was searched by drug-sniffing dogs without your consent and they found something, without a warrant and no probable cause they may have committed an illegal search and seizure. Anything that was found in the process will not be accepted into evidence in court.
The Fourth Amendment
This simply stated part of the Constitution says that:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
A search, and any evidence collected from it, must have probable cause. If your home is searched, law enforcement are also required to have a warrant to perform a search. There are procedures that must be followed once a warrant is issued.
If the police show up without a warrant and ask to search your home, you can ask for a warrant to be issued first, and decline to consent to a search without one. A warrantless search could lead to procedures not being properly followed.
Warning: even if you state loudly that you do not consent to a search but the officer proceeds to search you anyway, do not resist. You could be charged with obstruction, assaulting a police officer, or other charges. But if the search is illegal, your attorney can file a motion to suppress, which will stop any evidence from the search from being introduced into court. You may also have a right to a civil court remedy as a result of the illegal search.
A search warrant does not give law enforcement the right to arrest you. They may gather any evidence in plain sight, and may look to see where you are hiding. However, if they gather enough evidence, they can arrest you based on that evidence.
The warrant and illegal search and seizure
This document must contain:
The judge’s name
Your name
Your address
The name of the agency conducting the search or arrest
Descriptions of items that are being sought
An officer is not required to have the warrant on hand, but if he or she does, under Colorado law they must show it to you upon request. If an officer removes property from your home, he or she must give you a receipt for the property as well as a copy of the warrant.
Note that you do have the right to remain silent and not answer questions. Should they threaten to get a warrant, insist that they do so. They will have to go to court to get it, and may or may not be successful. However, if you consent to a search, they won’t have to get court permission.
If law enforcement insists on doing a search anyway, remain calm, do not interfere, and begin taking notes immediately. If someone is with you, ask them to witness the unconsented search. Record:
Names
Badge numbers
Law enforcement agency or agencies involved
Any other relevant information
Call a civil rights defense attorney immediately.
Section 1983
This section of US law (42 U.S. Code, Section 1983) addresses the abuse of the legal system to deprive another person of their civil rights, and allows people to sue the government for any civil rights violations.
For this section to be used, the defendant must have acted “under color of,” in a specific jurisdiction. That is, the individual was acting in his or her capacity as a representative of a governmental entity. A police officer generally does, whether patrolling or performing a search and/or arrest. Police who use excessive force generally come under Section 1983.
It is possible to sue for damages incurred during an illegal search and seizure, if you were arrested. You can sue for property damage, pain and suffering, lost wages and other expenses as well as attorney’s fees
Defend your rights — call today
If you’ve been a victim of an illegal search and seizure, defend yourself. Get a lawyer who is experienced in civil rights violations and Section 1983.
Call the Civil Rights Litigation Group at (720) 515-6165, or use our online contact form, to schedule your free consultation with us today. We understand civil rights cases, and aggressively defend you in court and make sure your rights are protected.
It happens sometimes that people are arrested for reasons they don’t understand. You’ve done nothing wrong, but there you are, sitting in the back of a police car (not resisting arrest), and you’re not sure why. It happens more often than you think, and the ACLU has stepped in to assist hundreds of people like Valerie Rodriguez, a lady unlucky enough to have the same name as someone else who committed a crime. A police officer who failed to do the proper research facilitated the arrest of an innocent woman instead of one that caused harm.
Police officers may be quick to make an arrest if they believe you aren’t complying with their request. Unfortunately, even catchall charges like disorderly conduct and resisting arrest are up to the officer’s discretion. Even not acting fast enough when the officer tells you something can be “resisting arrest,” giving an officer free reign. If you’re innocent of the disorderly conduct but tried to resist arrest, that second charge may stick when you go to court. An officer’s report may be written to indicate that you have broken the law, when in fact, they may be covering up their own mistakes.
Last year we discussed false arrest and the civil rights violations that it could bring. But even if it’s a false arrest or other mistake, is resisting arrest the right thing to do?
Resisting arrest is a misdemeanor in Colorado
Interfering with a police officer’s duties and preventing him from making an arrest constitutes resisting arrest. This is true whether the individual is innocent of any charges or not.
If you do resist being arrested in Denver, CO, and you are innocent of the original charge, you’ll still be charged with resisting arrest under 18-8-103 (1) C.R.S, which is a Class 2 misdemeanor. You could face fines of up to $1,000 and as much as a year in jail.
Defenses against resisting arrest
There are defenses against this charge:
Self-defense, in which the individual intends to protect himself or herself against an assault by a police officer
In defense of another individual
The police officer is acting as a private person and not in his or her official capacity as a law enforcement officer
The police officer uses excessive force when it isn’t warranted
However, unlawful or false arrest are not defenses; you’ll need to fight this kind of charge in court.
If you are arrested for resisting arrest in Denver, CO
The safest way to proceed is to go along with the officer, do not resist, and give them no additional information beyond your name. State that you would like to answer any other questions in the presence of an attorney. Anything you say to the police, even before they read your Miranda Rights to you, can be used against you in court. Therefore, make no statements to anyone involved, including the police, without the presence of an attorney at your side.
Once you’ve been freed from jail, find an attorney who will not only defend you from the charge of resisting arrest, but demonstrate that you were, in fact, innocent of the original charge for which you were being arrested.
Defend your rights with a Colorado civil rights attorney
Most charges of resisting arrest are defensible. If a prosecutor offers you a plea bargain, you’ll still have a criminal conviction on your record. To avoid conviction, it’s best to take your case into a jury trial. That’s where a civil rights attorney can help.
If you or someone you know has been charged with resisting arrest and is innocent of charges, get the legal help you need immediately. Call the Civil Rights Litigation Group at (720) 515-6165, or use our online contact form, to schedule your free consultation with us today. We’ll fight to help you clear your name against false arrests and other over-reaching actions by police.
Filing a lawsuit for any kind of discrimination is a difficult decision that isn’t taken lightly. Age discrimination is particularly difficult, and can have long-term ramifications. Age discrimination is personal. You’ve worked hard for a long time and have a lot of years of good experience. But suddenly, after your 40th (or 50th) birthday, you wake up and realize you’re not working there anymore. You may have a very difficult time finding a new job, especially after 50. What happened?
Age discrimination
With more employees shunning retirement and working longer, age discrimination is becoming more common in companies both large and small. The EEOC reports that age discrimination complaints are increasing. From 1997 through 2007, there were less than 20,000 filings per year.
In 2008, however, the number of filings increased from 23,000 to 25,000 per year. That’s just the people who filed a complaint — without a report, there are likely more cases of age discrimination that no one knows about. In Colorado alone, there were 370 age discrimination complaints filed in 2018. By comparison, California recorded 1,062, and Texas recorded 1,744.
So why do older people find themselves unemployed after a long, successful career? There are a number of misconceptions about “older workers,” including:
They can’t deal with technology (i.e., computers, smartphones, conference calls, etc.)
Their health insurance costs more, because after 50 they have more health problems
They don’t need a job because they’re so close to retirement
They cost more in wages and salaries, so it’s fiscally prudent to lay them off and hire younger, less expensive workers.
However, older workers tend to be more reliable than younger workers, but are generally targeted first in a reduction in force.
While employers are quite sneaky about hiding their age-discrimination tendencies, there are occasions where they make missteps, such as asking about your retirement, or making disparaging comments to younger employees about a worker over 40. That’s when you may decide to file a complaint with the EEOC, and follow with an age discrimination lawsuit.
Collecting evidence for age discrimination
If you’re finding yourself the target of such comments or treatment, document everything. For instance, if your boss asks you about your retirement plans, or makes other disparaging remarks, keep a record of the time, date, and any witnesses who heard it. Follow up with an email to him or her thanking him for his concern, and that you currently have no plans to retire, that you enjoy your work. Print and file copies of these types of emails and other documents.
If you were told about such comments by another employee that were not made in your presence, document that as well, including the individual who told you.
Gather copies of all of your performance reviews, especially reviews that demonstrate your good work record and performance. If your reviews have abruptly changed after years of doing well, your previous good reviews will be a strong contrast.
Watch how younger employees are treated in relation to older employees, whether it’s work-related, promotion related, firing or layoff related, or how they are treated in the same circumstances as someone over 40. If you find a pattern of age-related bias, begin keeping records of these individuals and how they were treated differently than those under 35 or 40. This is especially true in disciplinary cases.
Favoritism towards younger employees, such as work assignments, sales leads, meetings, promotions and other patterns may also indicate discrimination. This should also be documented, even if the supervisor is “over a certain age.”
After a period of good performance reviews, if you suddenly find yourself with negative reviews, write-ups or other disciplinary actions, there’s a good chance you are being targeted. The goal is to either find a way to fire you or to get you to quit. Again, documentation is key to proving your case in an age discrimination lawsuit.
The hearing
Whether you are in a hearing with the Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) or EEOC, or a court hearing, you’ll be asked questions by a well-equipped defense counsel. While you are there to prove disparate treatment and disparate impact, they are ready to disprove your claims of age discrimination.
You’ll be required to prove that you are in a protected class (over 40) and are qualified to do your job, but that you suffered an adverse action in your employment and were treated differently than employees who were under 40. Expect pointed questions from both your own attorney, and by your employer’s attorney. You’ll be asked about your training, qualifications, and other relevant questions that are intended to disprove your claim.
Your employer will then be required to prove that the action was not discriminatory, and the action had a legitimate reason, and was for a reason other than age. While a requirement to lift 50+ pounds occasionally might be reasonable for some jobs, they could be used to discriminate against individuals where such a requirement wouldn’t be necessary.
Should this be proven, at this point, the burden of proof is yours to show that the action was a pretext and in fact, discriminatory. Working with an age discrimination attorney will help you prove your case successfully to increase your chance of winning your case and having a settlement.
Your Denver civil rights attorney
Being fired or laid off because of your age, even when hidden by another reason, is age discrimination and against the law. Get help with your case before you file a complaint. Call the Civil Rights Litigation Group at (720) 515-6165, or use our online contact form, to schedule your free consultation with us today. We’ll aggressively defend you in court and make sure your rights are protected and you are treated fairly.
Pregnancy and childbirth are a wonderful time in a woman’s life. From the first moment she discovers she’s pregnant until she takes home a newborn, she has much to do. One of the things she shouldn’t have to be concerned about is her job and pregnancy discrimination.
Many companies have specific policies and procedures in place to accommodate a woman during and after her pregnancy, including accommodations. Most companies implement temporary work re-assignments to accommodate a shorter work schedule. Some companies may hire a temporary worker or two while the worker is out on maternity leave. But not all companies are as progressive and forward-thinking.
There are laws in place to protect pregnant women from being singled out. But gender discrimination or pregnancy discrimination is still a widespread problem nationwide, particularly among low-income women. Many employers will find a way to terminate a woman’s employment due to her pregnancy, despite the fact that it’s highly illegal.
Employment termination is frequently disguised as a layoff, couched in less-than-favorable performance reviews, or a policy violation that wasn’t there before, such as tardiness without a doctor’s note or an increase in a weight-lift requirement. This directly impacts the woman’s family, since the income is cut off when they need it the most. Since pregnancy is exclusive to females, it can also be considered “gender discrimination.”
Laws against pregnancy discrimination
Both state and federal law prohibit pregnancy discrimination:
Pregnancy Accommodations In Colorado, in which an employer is required to offer “reasonable accommodations” to a pregnant employee, unless it would cause an undue hardship to the company. It also prevents an employer from taking “adverse actions” against an employee for requesting an accommodation. Requesting a doctor’s note for the requested accommodation is acceptable.
An employer must provide a reasonable accommodation for a pregnant employee as they would for an employee experiencing a different disabling health conditions (i.e., broken bones, stroke, recuperation after reparative surgery, etc.)
The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination for pregnancy as well as other common reason, such as race, creed, nationality, orientation, age, and other factors. This act requires all employers, regardless of size, comply with the state laws against discrimination.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 specifically prohibits sex discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy/childbirth. Women are to be treated the same as any other employee with a medical condition with respect to benefits, including healthcare, affected in the same way with a condition that temporarily prevents them from working or limits their ability to work.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law that prohibits discrimination against disabled workers by companies with more than 15 workers. Conditions related to pregnancy like gestational diabetes and preclampsia are considered disabilities under the law. You can’t be fired, harassed, or denied a promotion because of your pregnancy, nor denied assistance such as extra breaks or being excused from a lifting requirement. FMLA provides 12 weeks of unpaid guaranteed leave for pregnancy and childbirth.
What Is A “Reasonable Accommodation?”
Like many conditions, pregnancy includes its own symptoms, such as the well-known “morning sickness.” A pregnant woman in the workplace may need some accommodation during pregnancy, including:
Job restructuring
A temporary modified schedule
Increased breaks for restroom, food and water
Foot rests
Equipment modifications, such as a chair with increased support
“Light” duty, including the reduction of weight lift requirements during pregnancy
Assistance with manual labor, or a temporary transfer to a less hazardous job
An employer is required to engage in an interactive discussion with the employee to accommodate their needs for assistance. The employer is required to supply reasonable accommodation as long as it doesn’t create an undue hardship for the company. For instance, a request for a new chair would be considered “reasonable,” but a request for an entirely new office to be built would not be.
An employee is not required to accept an accommodation she didn’t request, nor can she be compelled to take leave if the employer can provide a reasonable accommodation.
What you can do about pregnancy discrimination
Both state and federal law prohibit an employer from using your pregnancy as a factor in decision making for:
The hiring and interview process
Wages, benefits and other pay-related decisions
Promotions, transfers, demotions or other disciplinary actions
Retaliation for taking leaves of absence
Disciplinary action, such as suspensions and termination
It’s important to begin keeping documentation of any attempts at discrimination in the workplace that you notice. For instance, if another individual is being accommodated for a different type of injury, but you aren’t. If something has “changed” at work after notifying your supervisor of your pregnancy, or you’ve heard an increase in inappropriate remarks about your pregnancy, keep a written record. If you are being singled out, this written record will go a long way in proving your case.
If you’ve been terminated, fired, laid off, or had other adverse actions taken against you once you’ve revealed your pregnancy, it’s time to speak with a civil rights attorney who can defend you and protect your rights.
Workplace discrimination is against the law
The US has very strict laws against discrimination, particularly for a pregnant woman. Colorado also offers protections if you believe you’ve been targeted because of your pregnancy. Call The Civil Rights Litigation Group today at (720) 515-6165 for a free consultation. We’re experienced in helping people like you fight back. We can help you file your EEOC complaint, and represent you in court when the time comes.
