The numbers at a glance
- 1,057 age discrimination charges filed in California with the EEOC in fiscal 2025
- 22.3% of California charges alleged age, against 18.5 percent nationally
- 5,911 California right to sue complaints alleging age discrimination in 2024
- 78% of workers 40 to 65 say they have seen or experienced age discrimination at work, per AARP
- 16,353 age charges nationwide in fiscal 2025
Age discrimination protects workers 40 and older under both California and federal law. It is one of the hardest claims to see in the numbers because it is rarely stated out loud, and one of the most common in surveys because nearly every older worker has a story. The filing counts below sit somewhere between the two.
California age charges by year
| Fiscal year | California charges, age | Share of all California charges | U.S. charges | California share of U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,057 | 22.3% | 16,353 | 6.5% |
| 2024 | 1,089 | 21.4% | 16,223 | 6.7% |
| 2023 | 971 | 18.9% | 14,144 | 6.9% |
| 2022 | 659 | 15.0% | 11,500 | 5.7% |
| 2021 | 1,010 | 26.1% | 12,965 | 7.8% |
| 2020 | 985 | 23.8% | 14,183 | 6.9% |
| 2019 | 1,065 | 24.9% | 15,573 | 6.8% |
| 2018 | 1,062 | 24.4% | 16,911 | 6.3% |
| 2017 | 1,374 | 25.3% | 18,376 | 7.5% |
| 2016 | 1,517 | 25.8% | 20,857 | 7.3% |
| 2015 | 1,572 | 25.4% | 20,144 | 7.8% |
| 2014 | 1,569 | 24.7% | 20,588 | 7.6% |
| 2013 | 1,799 | 26.1% | 21,396 | 8.4% |
| 2012 | 1,833 | 24.8% | 22,857 | 8.0% |
| 2011 | 1,852 | 25.8% | 23,465 | 7.9% |
| 2010 | 1,856 | 25.9% | 23,264 | 8.0% |
| 2009 | 1,855 | 27.9% | 22,778 | 8.1% |
California age charges were 1,855 in fiscal 2009 and 1,057 in fiscal 2025, following the overall decline in federal filings from the state. The California share of charges alleging age was 22.3 percent in fiscal 2025 against 18.5 percent nationally, and ran above a quarter of all California charges for most of the years before 2022.
A note on how to read the EEOC figures. The EEOC counts a charge under every basis it alleges, so a single charge that claims sex discrimination and retaliation shows up in both columns and the columns add up to more than the total. The state figures cover charges filed with the EEOC itself, not the tens of thousands of complaints California workers file with the state Civil Rights Department, which we cover separately.
State complaints
| Basis | Right to sue 2024 | Right to sue 2023 | Right to sue 2022 | Investigated 2024 | Investigated 2023 | Investigated 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 5,911 | 5,340 | 4,535 | 867 | 865 | 832 |
Age was cited in 5,911 California right to sue complaints in 2024, 34.9 percent of them, and in 867 complaints accepted for investigation, 21.3 percent. The investigated share is one of the highest for any basis, which suggests age complaints arrive with the kind of documentary evidence, such as a layoff list, that the department is able to act on.
A note on how to read the CRD figures. The Civil Rights Department publishes its numbers by calendar year, and it counts a complaint under every basis it lists, so the basis rows add up to more than the number of complaints. Most California workers who go to court first ask CRD for an immediate right to sue notice rather than an investigation, so the right to sue table is the closer measure of how many people are actually pursuing a claim.
The national series and outcomes
The EEOC received 16,353 age charges nationwide in fiscal 2025, up from 12,965 in fiscal 2021 but far below the 23,264 of fiscal 2010.
Nationally the EEOC resolved 16,937 age charges in fiscal 2025. 1,065 settled, 1,132 were withdrawn with benefits, 254 ended in a reasonable cause finding, 11,395 in a no cause finding and 3,091 were closed administratively. Merit resolutions totaled 2,451, 14.5 percent of resolutions, and the agency obtained 106.9 million dollars for charging parties without litigation.
AARP's research puts the experience far wider than the filings: 78 percent of workers between 40 and 65 report having seen or experienced age discrimination at work.
What these numbers mean if it happened to you
- California protects workers 40 and over at employers with five or more employees, federal law at twenty or more.
- Layoffs that skew old, being replaced by someone much younger, comments about energy, retirement or being a fit for a young team, and being pushed out of training are the common fact patterns.
- California law expressly says that using salary as the basis for a layoff can be age discrimination when it falls on older workers.
- Severance agreements often ask you to waive age claims. Federal law gives you 21 days to consider and 7 days to revoke, and the waiver must name the age discrimination statute.
Deadlines that decide these cases
A California worker has three years from the last act of harassment or discrimination to file with the Civil Rights Department, and one year after a right to sue notice to file in court. The federal deadline is much shorter, 300 days to file a charge with the EEOC. The counts on this page only include people who filed inside those windows. Everyone who waited too long is missing from every table here.
Pushed out because of your age?
Free, confidential review with a California employment lawyer.
Sources
The figures on this page were taken from the following publications, as released by the agencies. Percentages, changes, sums and rates per 100,000 workers are our own arithmetic from those figures.
- EEOC, Table E1b, charge receipts by state and basis, FY 2009 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- EEOC, Table E5a, age (ADEA) charge receipts and resolutions, FY 1997 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2024 Annual Report (complaint tables and county appendix), calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2023 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2022 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
- AARP, age discrimination in the workplace, www.aarp.org
Frequently asked questions
How common is age discrimination in California?
At what age does age discrimination protection start?
What percentage of older workers experience age discrimination?
Is age discrimination hard to prove?
Attorney advertising. The figures on this page come from the public sources listed above and are reproduced or computed as described. They are provided for general information and do not constitute legal advice, nor does reading this page create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. If you believe your rights were violated, consult a California employment attorney promptly, filing deadlines apply.