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Article: Supreme Court Lowers Employees' Burden to Prove Age Discrimination, Allows Disparate Impact Claims.
- Article from:
- Mondaq Business Briefing
- Article date:
- June 17, 2005
- Author:
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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Originally published June 2005
By Todd D. Steenson (Chicago)
On March 30, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for employees over the age of 40 to sue for age discrimination under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Smith v. City of Jackson, No. 03-1160 (March 30, 2005). The Court ruled that employers can be held liable under the ADEA even without proof of intentional age discrimination. This decision authorizes employees to bring "disparate impact" age discrimination claims - claims that employment policies that are not specifically based on age nonetheless negatively impact older employees more significantly. Although the ...