Thursday, June 18, 2009, 3:30pm MST
Employers win, workers lose in Supreme Court age discrimination ruling
Phoenix Business Journal - by Mike Sunnucks

A new U.S. Supreme Court ruling makes it more difficult to prove workplace age discrimination.

The 5-4 decision will make it harder for older workers to prove they were treated unfairly by their employers.

The case centered around Jack Gross, a 53-year-old man who claimed he was demoted because of his age and replaced by a younger female worker. He sued his employer, Iowa-based FBL Financial Services Inc., under federal age discrimination laws.

During the original trial, the worker presented circumstantial evidence that his age played a role in his employment position and status. That led the trial court to require the employer to prove it did not discriminate. A federal appeals court overturned the trial court decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services Inc.

The Supreme Court concurred. In the majority decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court sided with the employer, saying it did not have to prove that it did not discriminate against Gross.

Federal age discrimination laws offer certain protections for workers 40 and older.

The ruling could make it harder for employees to prove age discrimination, because the burden of proof remains with the plaintiffs and can’t be put on the employers, said Gregg Lemley, an attorney and employment law expert with the Phoenix law office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC. Lemley said the decision is a big win for employers.


http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/06/15/daily64.html