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Article: Supreme Court Allows Disparate Impact Claims Under ADEA.
- Article from:
- Mondaq Business Briefing
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Mondaq Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In a surprise ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on March 30, 2005 that a claimant may establish liability under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) even if there is no intent to discriminate. Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi, No, 03-1160.
Background
The City of Jackson granted raises to its police officers to bring their starting salaries up to the regional average. However, officers with less than five years' service received proportionally greater raises, and most officers over 40 had more than five years of service. A group of older officers filed suit claiming that even if the compensation plan was age-neutral on its ...