Before you analyze any discrimination claim, establish which statute actually reaches the employer. Coverage is a headcount question, and the counts are not the same across statutes.
The two thresholds
- Title VII, the ADA, and GINA: 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
- The ADEA: 20 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
The ADEA threshold is 20, not the 15 that Title VII, the ADA and GINA use. That swap is the single most common error in this whole module. A manufacturer with 16 employees for 24 weeks clears both parts of the 15-employee test, so Title VII, the ADA and GINA reach it, and the ADEA does not. There is no 25-employee threshold in any of these statutes, and 50 is the FMLA covered-employer count, not an EEO one.
The public-sector exception
The 20-employee count applies to private industry. State and local governments are covered by the ADEA regardless of size. A county department with 11 employees is covered. Applying the private-sector minimum universally is a listed common error.
Who and what is protected
- Title VII bases: race, color, national origin, religion, and sex. Nothing else. Age and disability come from other statutes, and marital status and citizenship are not Title VII bases.
- ADEA: individuals at least 40 years of age. A 58-year-old is protected; a 37-year-old is not. There is no upper age limit - the old 40-to-70 range was capped out in 1986, and repeating that range is a widely taught error.
Carry this in
When an employee asks you to "process an ADEA complaint," the first step is not to concede or deny liability. Confirm the documented employee count across the current and preceding calendar years against the 20-employee, 20-week test. Only a verified count answers the coverage question, and other law may still reach the conduct.