I did some age discrimination cases. They were among the saddest I did. Could not win in the courts, so you had to push for settlement. Got it a few times. But there was really no reason for the companies to settle because, given the ways courts handled these cases, it was very easy for the companies to create facts cutting against discrimination. But this always struck me as one of the examples of corporate stupidity. Sure, the older employee costs a little more than the kids you bring in, but there is no substitute for experience and there is no guarantee that the new kids will work out.