We have a longtime employee who’s no longer meeting expectations. The owner is afraid to hold them accountable because they’re over 40 and, therefore, in a protected class. What can we do?

February 3, 2025

In general, you shouldn’t let an employee’s protected class status deter you from holding them accountable to your performance expectations. After all, everyone belongs to protected classes. Being in one simply means you can’t be treated differently because you’re in that class.

Now, if your organization has a history of bias in the workplace or of holding members of a certain protected class accountable for poor performance when others aren’t, then you’d be looking at a higher risk of a discrimination claim. Assuming that’s not the case, there’s really no cause for alarm.