Age discrimination is a serious problem that affects many professional employees. While it is widely known that severe ageism is so pervasive it is nefariously considered “the business norm” in computer technology fields, it is less widely known that severe age discrimination is especially prevalent in the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering fields, where innovation and technology are constantly evolving.
Prejudice in the sense of a judgment or opinion formed predicated on a person’s age is the basis of all age discrimination, which opinion proves on examination to be unrelated to the employee’s job performance or to be completely nonexistent.
There is a perception, not based on fact but on rumor and disinformation, promulgated in part through the internet, that younger Chemical and Biomedical Engineers will be more on the cutting edge of the latest research than their older counterparts. At to just how young an age this discriminatory falsehood has taken hold, is alarming, as evidenced by United States Government statistics.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Chemical and Biomedical Engineers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022 the most common age grade for persons employed as Chemical Engineers was 25 years to 34 years. It reports the median age of Chemical Engineers working in the US was 36.0 years. The median age of Biomedical Engineers was 35.2 years. These shocking statistics suggest that many engineers experience age discrimination prior to not yet even have reached the age of 40, which is the minimum age for legal protection from age discrimination under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634.
Fortunately for a younger NJ worker who wants an file age discrimination lawsuit, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to 10:5-14 does not have this age 40 threshold and professionals working in the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering fields and other employees who are under the age of 40 can file age discrimination cases under the LAD directly in NJ State Court, without having to go through a timely process of first exhausting ADEA administrative remedies. A number of studies have shown that discrimination plaintiffs fare better in lawsuits brought in State Courts than Federal Courts.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Harvard Law & Policy Review conducted a study showing that plaintiffs in Federal Court won on 15% of employment discrimination cases during a twenty-seven year period. By comparison, in all other civil cases combined during the same twenty-seven year period, the plaintiffs won at a rate of 51%. Employment discrimination plaintiffs in federal court also statistically have less time in court and have their cases thrown out, and dismissed before trial.
Don’t Sit on Your Rights
If you are a Chemical or Biomedical Engineer or any employee who is experiencing age discrimination, don’t sit on your rights. You should contact this office today for a free consultation. I accept clients from all over NJ. I have represented professional employees who were pushed out of jobs because of their age and was successful in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering, and moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages.
If you resign, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit.
In many instances of discrimination and retaliation, if you resign, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed.
If you are thinking of resigning, or think you will be fired, or have been fired, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options in the safest way for you.
If you are being subjected to such unlawful workplace discrimination or believe you are bong pushed out of your job, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation. I accept discrimination and whistleblower cases from all over New Jersey and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
Contact an Experienced Attorney Today
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.