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Employers will have an easier time defending against claims brought by employees under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (“ADEA”) after a landmark ruling handed down by the United States Supreme Court last Thursday. This decision is especially important in today’s economic climate, in which many employers have made difficult and challenging decisions to reduce their workforces and must confront the legal risks of how they select employees for job elimination.

The court held that an employee bringing an ADEA claim has the burden to show that age was the “but-for” cause for the company’s adverse treatment of the employee (such as firing or demotion). After this decision, age-discrimination plaintiffs must provide evidence that the company would not have made the adverse decision affecting his or her employment but for the employee’s age.

This decision parts ways from earlier precedent relating to Title VII discrimination cases (involving claims of race, sex, and other discrimination), where an employee can sustain a claim against an employer if an employment decision is predicated upon a multitude of permissible and impermissible factors—a so-called “mixed motives” case. The court further found that a mixed-motives case is simply improper under the framework of the ADEA.

The ruling should increase the number of ADEA claims that are determined in the employer’s favor before ever being sent to a jury.

The case is Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., Case No. 08-441 (June 18, 2009).

Please contact any member of the Maslon Labor and Employment Practice Group with questions or concerns you may have regarding this important issue. We urge employers to obtain legal advice before making employment termination decisions, so that we can help assess and minimize the risks of expensive and disruptive legal claims.

Our attorneys are ready to help.

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