by KYW's Amy Feldman

When a 25-year-old Rhode Island man was terminated, his boss told him that he was sorry to let him go but found him to be “immature.”  The manager refused to elaborate on what he meant by “immature” but the former employee knew just what he meant, since he was the youngest member of the small office by more than 15 years.  He planned to sue for age discrimination.  Can he? 

Many people wrongly—albeit logically—assume that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (the ADEA) protects people from being judged on the basis of their age.  This assumption is only partly true. What the law actually does is protect workers age 40 and over from discrimination on the basis of their age.  So a young employee who is fired because of his youth cannot make a claim under the ADEA.  But maybe that’s the good news, junior. The day will come that you will turn 40 and then you may rather wish for youth than for legal protection after all.