Supreme Court

Age Bias Ruling

On June 19, 2008, the Supreme Court made it easier for employees to show they had suffered discrimination because of their age.

Prior to this ruling by the Supreme Court, employees suing because they had been laid off were required to prove the employer’s lay-off policy was discriminatory.

Reversing that policy, the employer will now have to prove their policy does not discriminate against older employees.

The 7-1 decision puts both private and public agencies on notice that employers must defend the criteria used for layoffs if the cutbacks disproportionately affect older employees.

The high court revived a lawsuit by Clifford Meacham and 27 older employees at a governmental funded Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in New York laid off due to a lost contract.

Thirty-one employees were laid off, of which thirty were over forty years of age.

A jury ruled in favor of the employees, resulting in a six million dollar award, but the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York reversed the verdict.

The Supreme Court reversed that decision.

Several business groups predicted the ruling would lead to more law suits. Age is often a factor in certain jobs, different from race or gender suits.

Justice David Souter said “The burden is properly placed on the employer; there is no denying (this) makes it harder and costlier to defend.”

Judge Clarence Thomas dissented, maintaining the court was wrong to say the anti-age bias law extends to cases challenging layoff as having an unfair effect on older workers.