Mandatory Retirement in Law Firms Receiving Critical Inquiry

Almost half of the largest law firms have mandatory retirement for partners at set ages. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began an investigation into the practice in 2010 to determine if the practice violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and early last week the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants asked the EEOC to end the investigation. The EEOC has had pending claims involving mandatory retirement in law firms at least twice before, but both cases settled.

See Ellen Rosen, Retirement-Age Probe Could Affect Firms: Business of Law, Bloomberg, Oct. 21, 2014.