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03/10/04 - Employers May Favor Older Workers
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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) allows employers to favor older workers over relatively younger workers. In 1997, General Dynamics negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the UAW to allow more generous retirement benefits for employees who were at least 50 years or older at the time. Since the ADEA protects employees 40 years of age or older, a group of employees aged between 40-49 filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination. The Supreme Court found that the ADEA does allow employers to favor an older employee over a younger one. The impact for most employers will be in the area of worker and retirement benefits, such as allowing an early retirement inducement.
However, some state laws, such as those in Oregon, are more restrictive. The Oregon Supreme Court also has held that reverse discrimination does violate Oregon law. Additionally, other laws may come into play when an organization provides an early retirement incentive, such as ERISA, WARN, etc. Employers should seek sound advice prior to implementing such an incentive.
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