April 4, 2005
The Supreme Court has struck a blow for older workers, which it defines as people 40 and over. Ouch!
The court ruled 5-3 that workers may sue their employers for age discrimination and in doing so they need not prove that discrimination was intentional.
The court said employees can prevail in a lawsuit by showing that a policy has a discriminatory impact on older workers, regardless of the motivation of the employers.
Employers can still defend themselves against discrimination suits, the court said, if they can prove that a challenged policy was based on “reasonable factors other than age.”
I think I like this ruling.
As someone over 40 (barely) who is in good health and of sound mind, I don’t want to be the victim of an employer who hires someone half my age at half the price just to save money, especially when I have so much experience.
There’s a raging debate about pilots and their forced retirement at a certain age, which may allow them to sue for age discrimination.
Once in a while the Supreme Court gets it right.
It appears to have done so with age discrimination.
I’m Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
