Archive for the ‘Verdicts’ Category

A June 18 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court has made it more difficult for older workers to sue an employer for age discrimination. In a 5-4 decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, the Court held that employees claiming age discrimination must prove that age was the deciding factor in their employers’ decision to demote or fire them. Previously, a plaintiff only had to show that age was one of the factors considered by the employer in making its decision. If the plaintiff could show that, then the burden would fall on the company to prove that it had a legitimate reason for making its decision.

In Gross, a 54 year old employee claimed that he was demoted because of his age and filed a lawsuit under the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA). A jury awarded $47,000 to plaintiff Jack Gross, finding that Gross’s age was a “factor” in the decision to demote Gross. The majority opinion, written by Justice Thomas, stated that the trial court had made a mistake by not telling the jury that the plaintiff needed to prove that FBL demoted Gross because of his age.

The dissenting opinion, written by Justice John Paul Stevens, stated that the ruling was a “display of judicial lawmaking” that overturned earlier employment discrimination precedent and disregarded changes made to national civil-rights law in 1991.  Civil rights groups and the AARP also criticized the Gross ruling and called upon Congress to alter the standard of proof by passing legislation. Read more about other issues affecting the elderly, such as denture cream zinc poisoning and denture cream lawsuits.