Is it legal to discriminate people based on age?

Question

i.e., Would it be legal to tell someone that they can't come into your store because they are too young/old.

Answer 1

Yes it is legal to limit the age of someone to enter a private facility, store, restaurant, club, gov't bldg. etc etc - such as CHILDREN [i.e., under 18]..No it is not legal to limit access based on age otherwise - e.g. older people.

Limiting age in the case of under 18 is not discriminating...it is LIMITING access to those who are not adults yet.

Many stores do this - for what should be obvious reasons...yet do allow young ones in the establishmnent IF accompanied by an adult

Answer 2

Yes, as many others have already said, it is legal to limit admission to a business on the basis of age provided you can establish a valid grounds for such an exclusion. An exclusion for minors is no problem for most places, but I've never heard of any establishment that could exclude anyone because they are too old. And I can't think of a situation that would qualify as valid grounds for excluding someone because they are too old. But then as we see here every day, there is always something new in the world.

Answer 3

Theoretically, unless we're talking about some sort of circumstance where we're dealing with an Adult Themed Store, a Bar, or a "Gentlemen's Club" it should be absolutely illegal to discriminate based on age, but people go ahead and do it anyway. I especially have a problem with this in regards to some bars in my area(Youngstown, OH/Pittsburgh, PA). There are a lot of clubs in this area that have a Saturday night age restriction in which females 18 and over are allowed in, but if you're a Male you have to be 21+. I am absolutely dumbfounded as to how this is even possible, but a lot of bars do it anyway. When I was 20 I used to ***** up sh*tstorm when some of these places used to try to pull that sh** on me. Regardless, it continues to happen anyway.

-J.

Answer 4

Yes. If a store is selling soemthing that cannot be sold to under aged people such as X-rated things cannot be sold to people under 18. Too old is a lttle harder the only case I can think of someone unable enter something because they are too old are amusement parks which may restrict age to young and old for safety issues.

Answer 5

It would depend on the establishment and whether or not there are any laws/regulations that govern the way the establishment conducts business.

Such as not allowing a person under 21 into a bar or a person under 18 from an 18 and over club.

Answer 6

In most cases, it is illegal.

A couple of exceptions:

You can have an adult only store, and bar people under 18 (or 21) from entering.

You can have a kids only store, and bar people above a certain age from entering.

Answer 7

Yes, there are stores near the high school which only allow max 2 kids in at a time.
WHY??
Because of the stealing that goes on.

Stores cannot always watch the kids or enforce shoplifting. So they make RULES. It cuts down on the trouble.

Answer 8

Unless your state has laws defining age discrimination, there are no federal laws on age discrimination outside of a limited class in regards to employment.

So, it would be legal.

Answer 9

i don't think minors have any rights, unless your parents complain too. The mall where i live says people under 18 can't be there alone fri and sat night. You can call them a jerk and protest outside thier store, if they do this to all kids 100 kids sitting outside angry will hurt the business and they will submit.

Answer 10

yes it is legal to tell someoney they can not enter a store because they are too young. if they were selling sex toys/videos etc and allowing children and teens into the store they could get busted hard.