Are you a victim of age discrimination?

Last fall Ohio-based shoe retailer DSW agreed to pay seven former managers and about 100 other employees a total of $900,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit. The Equal Employ­ment Opportunity Commission, the government agency charged with enforcing discrimination laws, had filed on the workers' behalf after a thorough review lasting more than three years determined that DSW, a company of about 11,000 employees, unfairly fired people over the age of 40 during a "reduction in force."

DSW told us that it "unequivocally" denies that it discriminated based on age. "Those difficult decisions were driven by economic volatility and were in no way influenced by the age of associates," it told us in a statement.

Although American corporations by and large try to avoid even the appearance of age discrimination, there has been an uptick in the number of people who feel they have experienced it. Complaints filed with the EEOC under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act have increased about 30 percent since 1997, probably due in part to recession-induced downsizing and an aging workforce, says Diane Smason, a supervisory trial attorney in the Chicago EEOC office who worked on the DSW case. But feeling like a victim, knowing for sure that you were, and being able to prove you lost your main financial asset—your job—unfairly are three very different things.

Federal law protects workers and job applicants 40 and older from age-based discrimination in decisions about hiring, firing, layoffs, pay, benefits, promotions, and other conditions of employment at companies with more than 20 employees. That doesn't mean you can't be fired, only that your age alone can't be the reason. The onus is on you to prove that it was, and that your dismissal wasn't a result of poor performance or a legitimate business reason.

Direct proof is best, such as an internal memo that says something like "We need to fire Smith because he's over the hill." However, employers who fire people because of their age generally know not to put such sentiments in writing, says Chris D'Angelo, a New York City unemployment law attorney.

So if you suspect you are the victim of age discrimination, you'll have to accumulate other evidence, says Jay Levy, a Miami attorney who specializes in employment and commercial law. Say you're a 55-year-old employee who's fired but replaced with a younger worker. You'll have to prove the company did not have a legitimate business reason to fire you; for example, the new hire did not have new or additional skills the company needed.

Companies have other responsibilities, too. In cases where a layoff involves two or more people asked to sign a severance agreement, the company must provide the soon-to-be-ex employees information about the job classification and age of employees selected and not selected for the layoff. That information can be statistically analyzed by a lawyer representing you to see whether it had a disparate impact on older workers.

If you want to pursue a claim, you must submit a complaint with the EEOC, generally within 180 days of the date you were aware the discrimination took place. Its site can help you find the office nearest you.

The EEOC often tries to settle the matter through mediation. Before mediation begins, decide what you would like, such as reinstatement, unpaid income, insurance benefits, and so on.

If mediation is not successful, the EEOC will investigate the matter, and if it decides there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred, it will attempt to settle the matter again. If that fails, it can take legal action on your behalf. Although that is what happened in the DSW case, the agency litigates an extremely small percentage of the charges it receives.

If the EEOC does not come to any conclusion after six months, you can request a right-to-sue letter from the agency, ask for any information it uncovered in its investigation, and proceed with a lawsuit if you wish.

To pursue a legal case, talk to an attorney in your state about the merits of your claim, suggests Bradley Areheart, an associate law professor at the University of Tennessee. You can find an attorney who specializes in employment law through the National Employment Lawyers Association or your state bar association.

––Mandy Walker (@MandyWalker on Twitter)