Do age discrimination laws apply to businesses with fewer than 20 employees?

[petnurse]

Can a business owner discrimiinate against older, more qualified employees because they don't fall under the 20 or more employee clause?There is a huge amount of favoritism for a younger, less-qualified employee to the point where I am not able to use my skills and have no chance for advancement with her being given all the responsibility at the clinic. In addition, she has been lying and making false accusations about me which my employers believe because she has brown-nosed them into playing favorites with her. This is the same situation as I wrote about in a previous question. She is much younger, a high school learning disability student, vet tech school drop-out with multiple client complaints about her. I am a registered veterinary technician with multiple academic honors and years of experience, and NO client complaints about me, who tries to get ahead based on work performance rather than the cheap politics that she plays. What can I do legally to deal with this situation?

[jenna]

Age discrimination laws apply to employers with 20 or more employees on the payroll. Age Discrimination in Employment Act, passed in 1967 prohibits employment discrimination against any person 40 years or older. It discriminates against the hiring, promotions, salary adjustments, layoffs.

I certainly would document any statements made to fellow employees regarding their age or the ability to do the task. You can certainly file a complaint with the EEOC, Equal Employees Opportunity Commission.

However, the ADEA act only implies to businesses with 20 or more employees.

State workers may not file a claim with the EEOC.

Hope this helps!