Site Feedback

Title 44

Displaying title 44, up to date as of 8/18/2026. Title 44 was last amended 6/22/2026.
eCFR Content

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the official legal print publication containing the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR.

Learn more about the eCFR, its status, and the editorial process.

Standards for Determining Age Discrimination

§ 7.920 Rules against discrimination.

The rules stated in this section are limited by the exceptions contained in §§ 7.921 and 7.922 of these regulations.

(a) General rule: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

(b) Specific rules: A recipient may not, in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, directly or through contractual licensing, or other arrangements, use age distinctions or take any other actions which have the effect, on the basis of age, of:

(1) Excluding individuals from, denying them the benefits of, subjecting them to discrimination under, a program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance; or

(2) Denying or limiting individuals in their opportunity to participate in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. The specific forms of age discrimination listed in paragraph (b) of this section do not necessarily constitute a complete list.

§ 7.921 Exceptions to the rules against age discrimination: Normal operation or statutory objective of any program or activity.

A recipient is permitted to take an action, otherwise prohibited by § 7.920, if the action reasonably takes into account age as a factor necessary to the normal operation of the achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity. An action reasonably takes into account age as a factor necessary to the normal operation or the achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity, if:

(a) Age is used as a measure or approximation of one or more other characteristics; and

(b) The other characteristic(s) must be measured or approximated in order for the normal operation of the program or activity to continue, or to achieve any statutory objective of the program or activity; and

(c) The other characteristic(s) can be reasonably measured or approximated by the use of age; and

(d) The other characteristic(s) are impractical to measure directly on an individual basis.

§ 7.922 Exceptions to the rules against age discrimination: Reasonable factors other than age.

A recipient is permitted to take an action otherwise prohibited by § 7.920 which is based on a factor other than age, even though that action may have a disproportionate effect on persons of different ages only if the factor bears a direct and substantial relationship to the normal operation of the program or activity or to the achievement of a statutory objective.

§ 7.923 Burden of proof for exceptions.

The burden of proving that an age distinction or other action falls within the exceptions outlined in §§ 7.921 and 7.922 is on the recipient of Federal financial assistance.

§ 7.924 Affirmative action by recipient.

Even in the absence of a finding of discrimination, a recipient may take affirmative action to overcome the effects of conditions that resulted in the limited participation in the recipient's program or activity on the basis of age.

§ 7.925 Special benefits for children and the elderly.

If a recipient operating a program or activity provides special benefits to the elderly or to children, such use of age distinctions shall be presumed to be necessary to the normal operation of the program or activity, notwithstanding the provisions of § 7.921.

[55 FR 23078, June 6, 1990, as amended at 68 FR 51380, Aug. 26, 2003]

§ 7.926 Age distinctions contained in FEMA regulations.

Any age distinctions contained in a rule or regulation issued by FEMA shall be presumed to be necessary to the achievement of a statutory objective of the program or activity to which the rule or regulation applies, notwithstanding the provisions of § 7.921.

[55 FR 23078, June 6, 1990, as amended at 68 FR 51380, Aug. 26, 2003]