[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 13, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 13CFR117.4]

[Page 150-151]
 
                TITLE 13--BUSINESS CREDIT AND ASSISTANCE
 
                CHAPTER I--SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 117--NONDISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS OF SBA--EFFECTUATION OF THE AGE DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 1975, AS AMENDED--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 117.4  Discrimination prohibited and exceptions.

    (a) General. To the extent that this part applies, 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 business or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
    (b) Specific discriminatory actions prohibited. To the extent that 
this part applies, a recipient business or other activity may not, 
directly or through contractual arrangements, on the ground of age:
    (1) Deny an individual any services, financial aid or other benefit 
provided by the business or other activity, except where sanctioned by 
one of the exceptions stated in Sec. 117.4 (d), (e) or (f) of this 
section.
    (2) Provide any service, financial aid or other benefit, except as 
sanctioned by one of the exceptions stated below, in such a way as to 
deny or limit persons in their efforts to participate in federally-
assisted programs;
    (3) Treat an individual differently from others, except as 
sanctioned by an exception stated below, in determining whether the 
person satisfied any admission, enrollment, eligibility, membership, or 
other requirement or condition which individuals must meet in order to 
be provided any service, financial aid or other benefit provided by the 
business or activity.
    (c) The specific forms of prohibited discrimination in paragraph (b) 
of this section does not limit the generality of the prohibition in 
paragraph (a) of this section.
    (d) Exception 1. A recipient is permitted to take an action 
otherwise prohibited by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, if the 
action reasonably takes into account age as a factor necessary to the 
normal operation or the achievement of any statutory objective of a 
business 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 business or activity, if:
    (1) Age is used as a measure or approximation of one or more other 
characteristics; and
    (2) The other characteristic(s) must be measured or approximated in 
order for the normal operation of the business or activity to continue, 
or to achieve any statutory objective of the business or activity; and
    (3) The other characteristic(s) can be reasonably measured or 
approximated by the use of age; and
    (4) The other characteristic(s) are impractical to measure directly 
on an individual basis.

    Note: All of the above factors must be met in order to exclude a 
business activity from the provisions of this part.

    (e) Exception 2. A recipient is permitted to take an action 
otherwise prohibited by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section which is 
based on a factor other than age, even though that action may have a 
disproportionate effect on persons of different ages. An action may be 
based on a factor other than age if the factor bears a direct and 
substantial relationship to the normal operation of the business or 
activity or to the achievement of a statutory objective.

[[Page 151]]

    (f) Exception 3. A recipient is permitted to take an action 
otherwise prohibited by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section if an age 
distinction is contained in that part of a Federal, State or local 
statute or ordinance adopted by an elected general purpose legislative 
body which provides any benefits or assistance to, establishes criteria 
for participation in, or describes intended beneficiaries or target 
groups in age-related terms.
    (g) The burden of proving that an age distinction or other action 
falls within the exceptions outlined in paragraphs (d), (e), and (f) of 
this section on the recipient of Federal financial assistance.