Age cannot and should not be a deciding factor for promotions, salary, hiring and other considerations. Though it may be subtle, age discrimination is a relatively common case type in employment law. In 2024, age discrimination cases accounted for 18.3% of all cited discrimination charges. If you have been fired, denied a promotion, forced into retirement or experienced some other form of age discrimination from your employer, you may have an age discrimination case.
If you think you may have a case, find out how much an age discrimination lawsuit is worth before taking action.
Average Age Discrimination Settlement Amounts
How much is the average age discrimination lawsuit worth? Because settlement amounts are often kept confidential, estimating the amount of average age discrimination settlements can be challenging. Average amounts can vary widely, depending on several factors. For example, the type of case, location, how strong your proof is or the extent of damages can affect your case. Keep in mind that your attorney and their success rate can also play a role in what your age discrimination lawsuit settlement could be.
Every attorney is different, so it is beneficial to understand how they would value and represent your case and evaluate the factors above. Remember to consider what their track record looks like, as well. Consulting with the attorney before pursuing possible litigation can help you see what their average settlements and successes look like.
Potential Damages to Be Collected
If you can sue your employer for age discrimination, there are multiple types of age discrimination lawsuit awards you could potentially collect if you win the trial. To most accurately understand the damages you could collect, consult with an attorney. The categories of damages can differ at the federal and state levels, and the damages may vary from state to state.
Emotional Distress
Age discrimination can be emotionally damaging for many employees who experience it. Under federal law, you cannot be awarded emotional distress damages. However, state-level age discrimination laws may allow employees to win emotional distress damages. You may need to prove you have experienced emotional distress, which could require a mental health evaluation. A mental health expert may even need to testify at your trial to confirm your mental state.
Emotional distress damages can be challenging to estimate in dollar amounts because the jury decides how much money you should be awarded. If your attorney has dealt with similar cases, they may be able to provide an idea of what others were awarded for similar cases.
Future Pay and Lost Back Pay
Both federal and state laws may award back pay and front pay to employees in winning age discrimination cases to help them recover any wages they may have lost. Back pay enables you to recover any wages you lost between the incident and the trial. You could also recover front pay, which is the amount of money you will lose from not working during the trial and beyond.
To be awarded these damages, you need to prove your employer took adverse action against you off because of your age, and you have to show how that action has negatively affected your career and earnings. For example, if you have had difficulty being hired in a similar position since being laid off, or have to accept a job with less pay, this could be proof.
Liquidated Damages
Race, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability and religious discrimination cases may result in punitive damages, but intentional age discrimination cases cannot. Instead, you may receive liquidated damages.
Punitive damages are an additional form of compensation your employer would be required to provide as a punishment if you won your race, religious, gender or another applicable discrimination case. Only some states will award punitive damages, and even then, they can be difficult to win. These damages are typically only awarded in cases where you can significantly exceed the standard of proof.
Though the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) does not award punitive damages, it will award liquidated damages if you can prove that your employer knowingly and intentionally discriminated against you because of your age. Liquidated damages awarded under the ADEA can amount to what you are awarded in lost back pay.
Lost Benefits
The ADEA and many state laws allow employees to recover the financial value of any benefits they would have received but for the discriminatory incident, such as retirement and health care benefits. This award can include the employer’s contributions and the amounts those contributions would have earned had they been made.
Attorney Fees
If your case is successful, the ADEA and some states may award attorney fees, which the employer will be required to pay in addition to any damages awarded to you.
What Is My Age Discrimination Case Worth?
As we mentioned earlier, the value of your case will vary depending on numerous factors. When valuing your case, an attorney will use their expertise to consider the type of case, who your employer was and what jurisdiction the case will be in. Take a closer look at how each of these factors can affect the value of your case:
- Type of case: The type of employment discrimination case you may be able to file can affect the case’s worth. For example, age discrimination cases cannot be awarded punitive damages under the ADEA, but disability cases may receive punitive damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Without a chance to win punitive damages, your case’s value may be reduced.
- Employer: Looking at the specific employer is important. Some employers may be more or less willing to fight the case in court, which will affect the settlement. The employer’s size and financial stability can also affect the value of your case. Smaller companies may be limited in what they can pay compared to larger or more stable companies. Whether or not your employer had insurance coverage to apply to your case may also affect their ability to satisfy a judgment or settle a case.
- Jurisdiction: Some states tend to be either more employer- or employee-friendly. In employer-friendly jurisdictions, your legal claims may be more limited than in jurisdictions that tend to favor the employee.
Your attorney will also look at other factors when valuing your case, so be sure to ask about all determining factors in your consultation.
Ageism Lawsuit Examples
Here are some examples from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to demonstrate what settlement amounts for age discrimination lawsuits could be:
- Allen Theatres: In 2025, this regional movie theater chain agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a class action lawsuit. During the pandemic, the company president forced a longtime manager to retire due to his age and refused to hire him once theaters reopened. Allen Theatres also discriminated against all employees 65 and older, refusing to pay for health insurance coverage once employees were eligible for Medicare. This policy meant a class of employees received less compensation due to their age. In addition to the monetary damages, Allen Theatres must offer insurance coverage to all employees and update its policies.
- Washington Unified School District: This California school district settled a case alleging it denied an older employee equal terms of employment and ultimately fired the teacher due to age. The school district must pay $17,000, give the former employee a neutral letter of reference and provide anti-discrimination training to managers and supervisors.
- Hatzel & Buehler: In 2024, Hatzel & Buehler, an electrical contractor, settled an age discrimination lawsuit against the vice president of their New Jersey branch for refusing to hire older workers. The company agreed to pay $500,000 to eight job candidates and to change its policies and procedures to prevent future discrimination.
- Crab Knight: This seafood restaurant in Florida agreed to pay a $30,000 settlement to a former employee. The kitchen manager commented on an employee’s age multiple times, saying they needed to find someone younger to replace her, and eventually fired her. As part of the settlement, Crab Knight must also revise its policies and procedures.
- Dollar General: This retailer agreed to pay $295,000 to settle an age discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in 2024. For nearly two years, a new regional director discriminated against older district managers by calling them names, telling them he was building a younger team and threatening to fire them if they didn’t keep up with younger workers. After several district managers reported his harassment, he fired them and continued harassing another until they quit. In addition to the monetary award, Dollar General must adjust its policies and procedures to prevent discrimination, train its managers and notify employees of their rights.
However, not all settlements include a monetary award. For example, Noble Energy settled a charge that workforce reductions disproportionately affected older employees. Instead of paying a settlement award, Noble Energy committed to changing its policies, providing training and submitting annual reports to the EEOC. The company must also donate $150,000 to a nonprofit to improve job opportunities for older workers. In this case, it’s likely Noble Energy argued they didn’t owe damages since they had already paid former employees about $53 million in severance according to their standard policies.
Get a Free Consultation From Weisberg Cummings, P.C.
At Weisberg Cummings, we can offer you a free consultation if you think you’ve experienced age discrimination at work. We will use 40 years of combined experience and expertise to assess your case and determine your options. With a deep understanding of Pennsylvania employment and ADEA laws, our attorneys at Weisberg Cummings can help you determine if you have a case.
To find out if you have an age discrimination case and what its value may be, contact us today to get a free consultation.
