Age Bias as a Civil Rights Issue Argued in Court

The Supreme Court confronted the job security fears of America’s graying workers on Wednesday in a case that asks whether older employees have the same legal clout as minorities in discrimination claims.

The justices, who have lifetime appointments, are being urged by companies to make age bias suits tougher to prove. If the court does so, employers would have more leeway in cutting jobs.

The case turns on whether a 1967 law that bars on-the-job age bias allows lawsuits on grounds that an employer’s action had a disproportionate impact on older workers. Justices have already ruled that impact suits are allowed under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on a worker’s gender, religion or race.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said the country had a long history of racial discrimination when the court made that decision 30 years ago. She questioned whether there was similar evidence of bias against the elderly.

“There are subtle biases” against older workers, said John G. Crabtree, the attorney for the nearly 120 former Florida utility workers in the case.

The 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act covers about 70 million workers age 40 or older, nearly half the work force. Under the law, older workers may not be treated differently because of age.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted Congress deliberately copied wording from the 1964 act in crafting the law to protect older Americans. She said it would be “unseemly” to interpret the identical words differently.

“Unless we were wrong the first time,” Justice Antonin Scalia said.

Worried about lawsuits, some companies use quotas in reducing their staffs to ensure a mix of younger and older employees, lawyer Glen D. Nager told justices.

Nager, representing the employer in the case, said Congress only intended for companies to be judged by their motives and that the two laws are different.

The former Florida Power Corp. employees claim they were fired as part of a company effort to change its image and reduce salary and pension costs. More than 70% of those laid off during company reorganizations in the 1990s were 40 or older.

The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the workers could not pursue their lawsuit under the age discrimination act.

Some other courts have allowed age bias cases based on the “disparate impact” standard, that an employer’s action mostly affected the elderly. Without that option, workers must prove discriminatory intent, which is considered more difficult.

The case is Adams vs. Florida Power Corp., 01-584.