15 C.F.R. Subpart B—Standards for Determining Age Discrimination
Title 15 - Commerce and Foreign Trade
The rules stated in this section are limited by the exceptions contained in §20.5. (a) General rule: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (b) Specific rules: A recipient may not, in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, directly or through contractual licensing, or other arrangements, use age distinctions or take any other actions which have the effect, on the basis of age, of: (1) Excluding individuals from, denying them the benefits of, or subjecting them to discrimination under, a program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, or (2) Denying or limiting individuals in their opportunity to participate in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (c) The specific forms of age discrimination listed in paragaph (b) of this section do not necessarily constitute a complete list. (d) If a recipient operating a program or activity provides special benefits to the elderly or to children, such use of age distinctions shall be presumed to be necessary to the normal operation of the program or activity, notwithstanding the provisions of §20.5. (a) Normal operations or statutory objective of any program or activity. A recipient is permitted to take an action otherwise prohibited by §20.4 if the action reasonably considers age as a factor necessary to the normal operation or the achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity. An action meets this standard if: (1) Age is used as a measure or approximation of one or more other characteristics; and (2) The other characteristic(s) must be measured or approximated in order for the normal operation of the program or activity to continue, or to achieve any statutory objective or the program or activity; and (3) The other characteristic(s) can be reasonably measured or approximated by the use of age; and (4) The other characteristic(s) are impractical to measure directly on an individual bases. (b) Reasonable factors other than age. A recipient is permitted to take an action otherwise prohibited by §20.4 which is based on a factor other than age, even though that action may have a disproportionate effect on persons of different ages. An action may be based on a factor other than age only if the factor bears a direct and substantial relationship to the normal operation of the program or activity or to the achievement of a statutory objective. The burden of proving that an age distinction or other action falls within the exceptions outlined in §20.5 is on the recipient of Federal financial assistance.
Title 15: Commerce and Foreign Trade
PART 20—NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF AGE IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Subpart B—Standards for Determining Age Discrimination
§ 20.4 Rules against age discrimination.
§ 20.5 Exceptions to the rules.
§ 20.6 Burden of proof.
