OWBPA is the acronym for a federal law, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, 29 USCS 626. New Jersey does not have its own state OWBPA and does not follow a separate state OWBPA statute, because the OWBPA is a federal amendment to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 USCS 621 et seq. Government statistics show that age discrimination claims are on the rise and an employee’s waiver of age discrimination claims requires specific criteria for the waiver to be valid. See 06/02/2025 NJ Employment Attorney, Older Chief Executives and Senior Executives Fired Due to Age.
OWBPA governs federal age-discrimination waivers and releases nationwide, while New Jersey’s major layoff-notice law is the New Jersey WARN Act. The two laws serve very different purposes and operate in different ways.
If your employer has discriminated against you, you should contact this law firm today for a free consultation. I accept cases from all over NJ and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients. Employment/Civil Rights Law. If you are experiencing such discrimination, you should contact this office immediately at 201 599-9600 for a free consultation.
OWBPA vs. New Jersey WARN
OWBPA protects older workers when they are asked to waive age-discrimination civil rights, usually in a severance agreement or reduction-in-force release. New Jersey Age Discrimination Lawyer. Older female workers may be the first to be laid off and at times may have both age discrimination and sex discrimination claims. See NJ Sex Discrimination Attorney, I Am a Female Passed over for Executive Promotions.
New Jersey WARN protects employees when an employer is conducting a mass layoff, transfer of operations, or plant closing, by requiring advance notice and, in many cases, severance pay. You may read in detail about the NJ Warn Act at NJ Employment Attorney, Am I Entitled to Severance Pay under NJ WARN Act?
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act
Under the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, 29 USCS 626(f)), an individual may not waive any right or claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) unless the waiver is knowing and voluntary, and a waiver may not be considered knowing and voluntary without satisfying various enumerated minimum requirements.
Specific Criteria under OWBPA for Waivers of Age Discrimination Claims to Be Valid
The New Jersey WARN Act is much broader and stricter than the federal WARN Act, and New Jersey requires 90 days’ notice and, in covered events, mandatory severance pay of one week per year of service. By contrast, the OWBPA is not a plant-closing notice law at all; it is a release-waiver law tied to the ADEA. You may read about the main OWBPA provisions in NJ Employment Attorney, Layoffs and Older Workers over 40.
The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act 29 USCS 626(f), sets up its own regime, separate and apart from general contract law and incorporating no exceptions or qualifications, for assessing the effect of waivers of claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 USCS 621 et seq. See also Unequal Pay and Wage Claims - Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act.
Don’t Sit on Your Rights
I have represented employees who were illegally discriminated against by their employers, 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 think you are being discriminated against, you should contact this office immediately 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.
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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.