Older Workers Benefit Protection Act Law and Legal Definition
Congress passed the Act in 1990, amending the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA. The Act is intended to safeguard older worker’s employee benefits from age discrimination. The Act prohibits an employer from using an employee’s age to discriminate in benefits or for a company to target older workers for layoffs. However, the employers may observe the terms of bona fide employee benefit plans such as retirement, pension or insurance plans that contain age-based distinctions. Such age based reductions in employee benefit plans are justified by significant cost considerations. Employers must pay the same amount for each benefit provided to an older worker as is paid for a younger worker. However, the Act makes provision for the increased costs of providing certain benefits, such as life insurance, to older workers.
