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Article: Supreme Court Places Burden On Employers In Age Bias Disparate Impact Cases.
- Article from:
- Mondaq Business Briefing
- Article date:
- June 27, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 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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On June 19, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision, making it easier for older workers to prove that they were subjected to age discrimination. Given the economic downturn, and the resulting uptick in layoffs, this age-bias ruling is likely to trigger an increase in age discrimination lawsuits, particularly where disproportionate numbers of employees age 40 or older lose their jobs in a reduction in force.
In Meacham et al. v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory et al., No. 06-1505, the United States Supreme Court held, in a 7-1 ruling, under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), that an employer defending a disparate impact ...