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Are You a Victim of Age Discrimination?
Do the following statements apply to you?- I started my career as an Allstate agent prior to 1990, as an employee with benefits.
- I was converted from employee agent to independent contractor agent, with substantially no change in my job other that the loss of my benefits and employee protections.
- Allstate has now either terminated my contract, or threatened to terminate my contract for failure to achieve their business objectives of growth, AFS production or both.
- There are other agents in my area whose performance level is the same or worse than mine, however, they are not being terminated (or threatened) with the loss of their contract and agency.
Sound familiar? Are you a victim of age discrimination?
If you or someone you know is in this situation, consider whether you should file an age discrimination charge with the EEOC. Filing a charge may help protect your legal rights into the future should you be determined to have been misclassified as an independent contractor following your conversion from employee agent.
If your contract was terminated in writing with a 90 day notice, or if you received a threat in writing and subsequently sold your agency in order to avoid termination, you may only have 180 days to file a charge.
1. The deadline for filing EEOC charges is, in most states, 300 days after employees receive notice that they will be terminated (not the day of their termination). In a few states, primarily in the South, the deadline is 180 days. Any filing after then will not be considered.
2. The EEOC is overwhelmed, and looks for easy ways to process charges. One of those is to reject any filing from a person who is not an employee. Any filer should assert in the charge that, notwithstanding Allstate's label, s/he was an employee of Allstate.
3. Several states' laws are more favorable concerning age discrimination than the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Any charge filer should check the box that s/he wishes to cross-file the charge under the state's fair employment law. The agent can find out later if the state law is better than the federal law.
4. California agents only: California protects independent contractors against age discrimination under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. A victim of age discrimination does not need to file a charge at all to proceed under the Unruh Act. The act has a complex statute of limitations (three years for some actions; two years for others).
Contact your local EEOC office or visit www.EEOC.gov for more information, or contact an attorney specializing in employment law in your area.
DISCLAIMER: This information has been provided by NAPAA as a proposal for agents whose contractual relationship with Allstate has already been severed. This action may not be appropriate for your individual circumstances. This information is not intended to replace an independent evaluation with your attorney of the applicable facts and laws to be considered in your personal situation. This is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice from NAPAA or its attorneys, and NAPAA expressly disclaims any such advice.