On Thursday, June 19, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on age discrimination. According to the Birmingham News, the Court held 7 to 1 that “when older workers are disproportionately affected by an employment decision, the employer bears the burden of explaining whether there was a reasonable explanation other than age for the company’s action.” This was a case filed by twenty-six employees laid off by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in upstate New York. They claimed Knolls violated the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
In light of our aging population, we will probably begin to see more and more instances of these types of cases. It is good to see that we have a statute and a court which will protect those people who are discriminated against simply because they are older and have worked their way up the ladder. Such loyal employees should be rewarded and not kicked out for a cheaper, younger employee.
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