HB 1204: Employment; age discrimination; change age of individuals protected

Georgia law currently protects employees and job applicants from age discrimination, but only if they are between 40 and 70 years old (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-2). This bill rewrites that section to remove the upper cutoff, so the law would protect anyone 40 years of age or older, with no maximum age. The bill also makes small wording changes, replacing 'ground' with 'basis' and adding 'or her' after references to 'him' to make the language gender-neutral. It keeps existing exceptions, including the rule allowing mandatory retirement for certain high-level executives who qualify for a retirement benefit of at least $27,000 a year. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law without a signature.

• Removes the current 70-year-old upper age limit in Georgia's age discrimination in employment law, protecting all workers 40 and older instead of just those 40 to 70.
• Replaces the word 'ground' with 'basis' when describing the prohibited reason for employment decisions based on age.
• Adds gendered language ('or her') to existing references to employees, without changing the substance of protections.
• Leaves in place the existing exception allowing mandatory retirement of certain executives aged 65 to 70 with at least $27,000 in guaranteed annual retirement benefits.
• Sets the law to take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

Georgia workers and job applicants age 40 and older, especially those over 70 who were previously outside the law's protection. Also affects employers, businesses, and corporations operating in Georgia that hire, fire, or set retirement policies, since they must apply the age discrimination rules to a wider group of employees.

Workers over 70 in Georgia currently fall outside the state's specific age discrimination protections in employment. This bill would extend those protections to them, meaning older employees and applicants could have legal grounds to challenge being refused hire, fired, or denied employment based on age, without an upper age cutoff.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-1-2(a), changing the protected age range from 'between the ages of 40 and 70 years' to '40 years of age or older,' removing the upper limit.
• Section 1 also changes the word 'ground' to 'basis' and adds gender-neutral pronouns without altering the substantive protections.
• Section 1 keeps intact the existing carve-out permitting mandatory retirement of certain bona fide executives or high policy-making employees aged 65 to 70 who qualify for at least $27,000 in annual retirement benefits.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as immediately upon the Governor's approval or upon the bill becoming law without his signature.
• Section 3 repeals any existing laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-02-09House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-06House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)Primary sponsor
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)

• age discrimination
• employment law
• workers' rights
• retirement policy