U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Favors Employees in Age Discrimination Suits
In a recent article, The New York Times reported that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling has made it easier for older workers to argue that they are being discriminated against based on their age.
The case, which was decided in a 7-1 ruling, concerned 28 workers from a New York Federal research laboratory. When the Federal government required that the laboratory reduce its workforce, the contractor who ran the lab fired 31 employees, all but one of whom were over 40 years of age.
The plaintiff contended that the language used in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 put the burden of an age discrimination suit on the employer rather than on the employee. Justice David H. Souter agreed with the argument, asserting that the employer must provide “reasonable factors other than age” to be protected from liability. This decision is a significant step in protecting older employees from being discriminated against based on their age.
