San Francisco Age Discrimination Lawyer

Trusted age discrimination attorneys fighting for California employees with over 30 years of civil rights and employment law experience.

If you’ve been passed over for a promotion, pushed out of a job, or treated differently because of your age at a San Francisco workplace, you are not imagining it. Our San Francisco, CA age discrimination lawyer represents employees exclusively. At The Bloom Firm, we don’t represent companies or HR departments. We focus on helping the side of workers who have been wronged. We work on contingency, which means you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. Contact us today for further assistance.

Age Discrimination Attorney San Francisco, CA

What does age discrimination actually look like in a real life situation? Age discrimination is not always obvious. An employer rarely announces that someone is being forced out because of their age. More often it’s a pattern, such as the 58-year-old manager who is suddenly labeled “not a culture fit”, or the longtime employee who suddenly gets excluded from key meetings. Typically, unlawful layoff impacts employees over 50 disproportionately, and younger workers fill those roles within months.

Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and federal law, it is illegal for an employer to make adverse decisions about a worker based on age. That protection applies to workers 40 and over. It covers hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, and the general terms of employment. When those rights are violated in San Francisco, we’re here to pursue accountability.

Types of Age Discrimination Cases We Handle in San Francisco

The Bloom Firm handles a wide range of age discrimination and related employment claims on behalf of San Francisco workers. Here are examples of cases we take on:

Age discrimination in hiring. Employers who reject qualified applicants because of age, request dates that reveal age, or screen candidates using criteria that disproportionately filter out older workers may be violating law.
Wrongful termination. When an older employee is fired under circumstances that suggest age was a motivating factor, that may constitute unlawful termination. We investigate hiring patterns, who replaced the client, and what the employer’s stated reasons actually hold up to scrutiny.
Hostile work environment. Age-based harassment, demeaning comments about older workers, jokes about retirement, or a workplace culture that systematically marginalizes workers 40 and over can form the basis of a hostile work environment claim.
Retaliation. Employees who complain about age discrimination, file an EEOC charge, or participate in an investigation are legally protected from retaliation. When an employer responds to a complaint with demotion, discipline, or termination, we pursue that separately.
Disparate impact discrimination. Some employment policies appear neutral on their face but fall disproportionately on older workers. Layoff criteria, skills tests, or restructuring that disproportionately affects workers 40 and over can constitute unlawful discrimination even if age was never explicitly mentioned.
Pay disparity. Older workers are sometimes held to lower pay rates, passed over for raises, or replaced by younger employees at lower salaries. When age is a factor in compensation decisions, that may give rise to a viable claim.
Forced retirement. Employers who pressure employees to retire, condition benefits on early retirement agreements, or create environments designed to drive older workers out may be acting unlawfully.
Severance agreement disputes. Employers who present severance agreements to older employees must comply with specific legal requirements, including adequate time to review the agreement and language that complies with federal waiver rules. We review these agreements and, where appropriate, challenge those that don’t meet legal standards.

Why Choose The Bloom Firm for Age Discrimination in San Francisco, CA?

A Record of Meaningful Results

Lisa Bloom is the founder and owner of The Bloom Firm, which she established in 2010. The firm is a general practice law firm that handles family, civil, and criminal cases in California and New York, and has grown into one of the largest victims’ rights law firms in the country. Her attorneys are admitted to practice in California, New York, and Florida, and handle cases nationwide.

Attorney Lisa has been practicing law since the early 1990s, licensed in California since 1992, and is a graduate of Yale Law School. Rather than pursuing corporate law like many of her peers, she built her career representing individuals against powerful institutions. She has been selected by her peers as a Super Lawyer every year since 2015, and holds a five-star rating based on client reviews on the lawyer rating site Avvo.com.

Outcomes That Matter

The Bloom Firm has recovered millions of dollars for employees in employment, discrimination, and civil rights matters. Our case results include an $11 million sexual harassment verdict, a $10.1 million employment recovery, and an $8.4 million jury verdict, among others. If you have a potential case for age discrimination, our consultations are free and we don’t accept payment unless we recover for you.

Understanding Age Discrimination Cases

Claims, Damages, and Employer Liability

California provides among the strongest workplace protections in the country. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, workers 40 and older are protected from age-based discrimination in all aspects of employment. Federal protections under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act apply to employers with 20 or more employees. When a San Francisco employee prevails on an age discrimination claim, available damages may include:

Back pay for lost wages and benefits from the date of the adverse action.
Front pay for future lost income when reinstatement isn’t viable.
Emotional distress damages for the psychological toll of the discrimination.
Punitive damages in cases involving particularly egregious employer conduct.
Attorney’s fees and litigation costs.

Important Aspects of Your Age Discrimination Claim

Several factors shape the strength and trajectory of these cases. Here are important aspects to consider for your age discrimination case:

Filing a complaint. Before filing suit in California, employees generally must file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department and obtain a Right to Sue notice.
Timing of these cases matters. The EEOC process runs in parallel for federal claims. The order and timing of these filings can affect your options, and getting legal guidance before the complaint stage is always the better path.
Documentation is central to these cases. Performance reviews, emails, org charts, layoff lists, and comparisons of how similarly-situated younger employees were treated are all potentially relevant evidence. What you preserve now may not be replaceable later.

Age Discrimination Case Timeline

These cases move through predictable phases, though the timeline varies depending on how the employer responds and whether the case resolves before trial.

EEOC or CRD complaint: Generally filed within 300 days of the discriminatory act for federal claims, and within 3 years under California law for FEHA claims.
Right to Sue notice: Typically issued within a few weeks to a few months after a complaint is filed.
Filing suit: Complaint is filed in state or federal court after the Right to Sue is received.
Discovery phase: Both sides exchange documents, conduct depositions, and gather evidence. This phase commonly runs six months to over a year.
Mediation or settlement: Many cases resolve during or after discovery, while others proceed to trial.
Trial: Cases that don’t settle proceed to a jury or bench trial. But we prepare cases as if they may go to court from the start.

What to Bring to Your Consultation

Having certain information available helps us evaluate your situation, but don’t worry about having everything together. Here is what we recommend bringing to your consultation if you have it ready:

Any written records of the adverse action (termination letter, performance reviews, disciplinary notices).
Emails, texts, or other communications that reflect age-related comments or decisions.
Documentation of your employment history: tenure, job title, compensation history.
Information about how younger employees in similar roles were treated.

California Legal Resources for Age Discrimination

California and federal agencies publish information that can help workers understand their rights. A few resources worth knowing:

California Government Code § 12940(a): Prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants based on age (40 and older) in compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment under FEHA.

California Government Code § 12941: Establishes that use of salary as a basis for distinguishing between employees in a layoff, termination, or other employment decision may constitute age discrimination when salary correlates with age and is used as a proxy for it.

California Government Code § 12960(e): Sets the three-year statute of limitations for filing an administrative complaint with the California Civil Rights Department for age discrimination claims under FEHA. The period runs from the date of the last unlawful act.

Reach Out to The Bloom Firm to Schedule a Consultation

If you believe your employer treated you differently because of your age, we suggest speaking with an attorney right away. At The Bloom Firm, we handle these cases on contingency, which means there are no fees unless we win. Contact us to schedule your free consultation to tell us what happened.