Members of Congress are attempting to reverse the results of a Supreme Court ruling on age discrimination. The case is Gross v. FBL Financial Services.
The proposed legislation is a response to the Supreme Court’s June 2009 ruling in Gross v. FBL Financial Services that plaintiffs claiming disparate treatment under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act must show that age was the determining factor in the alleged discrimination, rather than just one of several factors.
“The Gross decision established a far higher standard of proof for age than for other forms of discrimination, without any rationale or justification,” Harkin said. Leahy said the 5-4 decision written by Justice Clarence Thomas was evidence of an “activist Supreme Court.”
Under the proposed legislation, the burden would be on the employer to show it complied with the law once a plaintiff shows age discrimination was a “motivating factor” behind an employment decision.
We will cover this in 2301 when we hit civil rights. and the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.