Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 24A (2026)

Dismissal or refusal to employ certain persons on account of age; penalty

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 24A. Whoever dismisses from private sector employment any person over the age of forty, or refuses to employ such person because of his age, except as permitted by subsection 17 of section 4 of chapter one hundred and fifty-one B, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 12 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1964–2022 · leading case: McKinney v. Nat'l Dairy Council, 491 F. Supp. 1108 (D. Mass. 1980).

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McKinney v. Nat'l Dairy Council, 491 F. Supp. 1108 (D. Mass. 1980). · cites it 6× “Mass.Gen.Laws c. 149, § 24A, before amendment in 1978, 8 read as follows: It is hereby declared to be against public policy to dismiss from employment any person between the ages of forty-five and sixty-five, or to refuse to employ him, because of his age.”

Ourfalian v. Aro Mfg. Co., 577 N.E.2d 6 (Mass. App. Ct. 1991). · cites it 3× “Counts I, II, III, and IV sought to impose liability on the defendant Sidney Shapiro for a “bad faith discharge,” for breaches of the plaintiff’s “implied contract of continued employment” and “implied covenant of good faith,” and for violations of the public policy of the…”

Treadwell v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins., 666 F. Supp. 278 (D. Mass. 1987). · cites it 4× “151B, § 4 and M.G.L. c. 149, § 24A. In Count Three plaintiff alleges that defendant terminated him in order to deny him retirement benefits, in violation of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), 29 U.”

Gram v. Liberty Mut. Ins., 429 N.E.2d 21 (Mass. 1981). · cites it 2× “See G.L.c. 149, § 24A; G.L.c. 151B, § 4. The opinion collects various cases concerned with public policy violations in the termination of at-will employment.”

Capron v. Massachusetts Attorney Gen., 944 F.3d 9 (1st Cir. 2019). “" See 40 Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 24A. But, the fact that the federal scheme might conflict with, and thus preempt, specific sections of Massachusetts law unrelated to a domestic worker's wage and hour rights provides no support for the assertion that the entire field of state…”

Knight v. Avon Prods., Inc., 438 Mass. 413 (Mass. 2003). “See St. 1966, c. 405 (extending class protected by G.”

Melley v. Gillette Corp., 475 N.E.2d 1227 (Mass. App. Ct. 1985). “Melley claims that the only reason he was fired was because of his age, that there is a strong public policy against age discrimination, see G. L. c. 149, § 24A, and G. L. c. 151B, § 4, and that an employer’s action which violates such a clear public policy is a breach of an…”

Rock v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 424 N.E.2d 244 (Mass. 1981). “149, was amended, adding a definition of age discrimination in employment, 7 and declaring that dismissing or refusing to hire a person between the ages of forty-five and sixty-five on the ground of age was “against public policy” (G. L. c. 149, § 24A). The Department of Labor…”

Johnson v. United States Steel Corp., 202 N.E.2d 816 (Mass. 1964). · cites it 2× “The defendant discharged the plaintiff when he was sixty-three years of age, without cause, in violation of G. L. c. 149, § 24A (inserted by St. 1937, c.”

Flynn v. New England Tel. Co., 615 F. Supp. 1205 (D. Mass. 1985). · cites it 2× “§ 623 (a) (Count I); violation of Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 149, § 24A and ch. 151B (Count II); intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count III); negligent infliction of emotional distress (Count IV); and breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (Count V).”

Craig Harrison & Another v. Massachusetts Bay Transp. Auth.., 101 Mass. App. Ct. 659 (Mass. App. Ct. 2022). “, G. L. c. 149, §§ 24A, 178A. No over-all intent to extend the terms "employee" and "employer" to all employment may be gleaned from its sections.”

Murgia v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bd. of Retire., 376 F. Supp. 753 (D. Mass. 1974). “32 § 26(3) unconstitutional and void, and awarding, after hearing, appropriate mandatory relief.”

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