State employment discrimination law — scope
Unable to confirm as of 2026-05-27.
Alabama age discrimination statute — coverage
Alabama law prohibits employment discrimination against workers age 40 and over in hiring, job retention, compensation, and other terms or conditions of employment. The prohibition applies to employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations. Under the definitions section of the same article, "employer" means any person employing 20 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
Source: Ala. Code § 25-1-21; Ala. Code § 25-1-20
Alabama age discrimination statute — enforcement procedures and statute of limitations
Alabama's age discrimination statute (Ala. Code §§ 25-1-20 through 25-1-29) differs from most state employment discrimination laws in that it does not require exhaustion of administrative remedies before filing suit. Unlike claims brought under Title VII or the ADA, which require filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as a prerequisite to litigation, Alabama age discrimination claims may be filed directly in circuit court.
The statute establishes a 180-day limitations period from the date of the alleged discriminatory act. A claimant has two procedural options: (1) file a civil action in circuit court within 180 days of the discriminatory act, or (2) file a charge with the EEOC and then file suit within 90 days of receiving the EEOC's notice of right to sue. If the claimant chooses the EEOC route, the 90-day post-notice deadline replaces the 180-day direct-filing window. This dual-path structure gives Alabama age discrimination claimants more flexibility than claimants under most other state anti-discrimination statutes, which mandate administrative exhaustion.
The Alabama statute applies only to age discrimination; Alabama has no general state statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, or disability in private employment. For those bases, claimants must proceed under federal law (Title VII, ADA, etc.) and follow federal administrative-exhaustion requirements. Practitioners handling multi-basis discrimination claims in Alabama typically assert the state age claim in state court under Ala. Code § 25-1-21 and the federal claims in federal court after EEOC exhaustion, or assert all claims in federal court under supplemental jurisdiction if federal claims are also present.
Remedies. Unable to confirm as of 2026-05-29.
Venue. The statute does not specify venue rules. Alabama's general venue statute, Ala. Code § 6-3-2, would govern; actions against natural persons must ordinarily be brought in the county of the defendant's residence, and actions against corporations in a county where the corporation maintains a place of business or where the cause of action arose.
Source: Ala. Code § 25-1-20; Ala. Code § 25-1-21