The central provision of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination because of an individual's age. In that respect, it is identical to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination because of an individual=s race or sex. As far back as 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court held that "reverse discrimination" under Title VII was prohibited, i.e., it violated Title VII to favor blacks over whites or women over men. In February 2004, however, the Court held that the ADEA "does not . . . stop an employer from favoring an older employee over a younger one." General Dynamics v. Cline, 540 U.S. ___ (Feb. 24, 2004).
The case arose out of a General Dynamics' policy that favored employees over 50 years of age to those between 40 and 50 (the ADEA protects only those over 40). Before 1997, full retirement health benefits were available to all employees who retired with 30 years of seniority with the company. The collective-bargaining agreement was renegotiated in 1997, and the new agreement provided that only employees who were at least 50 on July 1 of that year would be eligible for that benefit. Employees between 40 and 50 sued, arguing that the new agreement violated the ADEA because it discriminated against them because of their age.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sided with the plaintiffs, but the federal trial court disagreed. It dismissed the case on the grounds that no court in the country had held that the ADEA prohibited reverse age discrimination. In a split decision, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, holding that the plain language of the ADEA did not distinguish between "older" and "younger."
Six members of the Supreme Court disagreed with the Sixth Circuit. The majority explained that the most natural reading of the statute led to the conclusion that Congress "was concerned to protect a relatively older worker from discrimination that works to the advantage of the relatively young." The Court distinguished Title VII's prohibition on reverse race and sex discrimination on the grounds that the terms "race" and "sex" are "general terms that in every day usage require modifiers to indicate any relatively narrow application," like black race or female sex. In contrast, the Court reasoned, age is more naturally read in this context to mean the relatively old.
Practical Significance
Policies such as that of General Dynamics that favor the relatively old (those over 50) to the detriment of the relatively young (those between 40 and 50) do not violate the ADEA.
Eric V. Hall is an associate in RJ&L's Colorado Springs office where he practices in the firm's Religious Institutions and Labor and Employment Law Groups. Prior to joining RJ&L, Mr. Hall served the Honorable David M. Ebel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit as a law clerk.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.