Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Decided
Docket Number
06-1505
Term
2007 Term
Oral Argument Date
April 23, 2008
Questions Presented
1. Whether an employee alleging disparate impact under the ADEA bears the burden of persuasion on the “reasonable factors other than age” defense, as held by the Second Circuit in this case in conflict with the decisions of other circuits and a regulation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
2. Whether respondents’ practice of conferring broad discretionary authority upon individual managers to decide which employees to lay off during a reduction in force constituted a “reasonable factor other than age” as a matter of law.
Case Updates
Supreme Court holds employers bear burden of persuasion under ADEA
June 19, 2008
Disagreeing with NCLC, the Supreme Court held that employers bear the burden of proving that the employer relied on “reasonable factors other than age” (RFOA) for disparate impact claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
U.S. Chamber files amicus brief on the merits
April 11, 2008
NCLC urged the Supreme Court to uphold a Second Circuit decision holding that employees bringing disparate impact claims under the ADEA have the burden of proving that the employer did not rely on “reasonable factors other than age” (RFOA). In its brief, NCLC argued that plaintiffs have a statutory burden to establish that the alleged discrimination was because of the plaintiffs’ age. Congress designed the ADEA to target arbitrary discrimination based on stereotypical judgments about older workers, while carefully preserving employers’ flexibility to make the type of reasoned workplace decisions that commonly correlate with age.