AFL Docket Employment Discrimination Legal Advocacy
AFL Docket Employment Discrimination - Legal Advocacy Legal Advocacy
Case Issue: Does the television industry discriminate against older scriptwriters by denying them jobs and instead hiring younger writers almost exclusively because of the widely held assumption that older writers are incapable of writing material that will appeal to the younger audiences advertisers seek to cultivate? Case Name: Baker v. Beckton, Dickinson & Co. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir. Docket: 11-6273 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Did the district court improperly rely on impermissibly strict standard to exclude statements offered by plaintiff as direct evidence of age discrimination?
Case Name: Barton v. Zimmer, Inc. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 7th Cir. Docket: 10-2212 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Although the plaintiff was discriminated against because of her age, the ADEA provides no remedy because the plaintiff suffered no loss.
Case Name: Breeden v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 10-7073(L); 10-7078 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does Gross v. FBL holding that the ADEA's ban on workplace discrimination "because of" age precludes a "motivating factor" causation standard apply to retaliation claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) despite a U.S. Department of Labor rule that taking leave may not be a "negative factor" in any employment decision by an employer? Case Name: Coleman v. Maryland Ct. of App. Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 10-1016 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does the "self-care" provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act permit money damages from state employers, despite 11th Amendment sovereign immunity? Case Name: Dillon v. West Publishing Corp. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 9th Cir. Docket: 08-17759(L), 09-15055(XAP) Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Reversed jury verdict for plaintiff on grounds jury instructions referring to "motivating factor" standard of proof of age discrimination under ADEA did not comply with U.S. Supreme Court's Gross decision.
Case Name: Engers v. AT&T Management Pension Plan
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 3d Cir. Docket: 10-2752
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Compliance with section 4(i) of ADEA prohibiting the conversion of an employer's benefit accrual offers employers a complete defense to other age discrimination claims involving retirement benefits.
Case Name: Ford v. Mabus Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 09-5041 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Gross does not apply to ADEA claims of federal employees allowing them to pursue mixed-motives claims.
Case Name: Fuller v. Gates Court: U.S. Ct. App. 5th Cir. Docket: 11-40013 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does the Supreme Court "Gross" decision which prohibits "mixed-motives" claims under the so-called sector provision of the ADEA similarly preclude such claims under the federal sector provision of the statute? Case Name: Garcia v. 3M Co. Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Minn.
Read
Case Issue: Did employer violate the ADEA by basing its pay, promotion, and termination decisions about older employees on their ages? Case Name: Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 08-441 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Must a plaintiff present direct evidence of discrimination in order to obtain a mixed-motive instruction in a non-Title VII discrimination case? Case Name: Lee v. City of Columbus Court: U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir. Docket: 09-3899
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Policy that police employees provide their immediate supervisor, upon returning from more than three days of sick leave, a doctor's note identifying the condition that required them to be out of work does not violate the Rehabilitation Act because such a policy, even if it "may tend to " reveal information about employee disabilities, does not demonstrate discrimination "solely on the basis of disability."
Case Name: Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 09-1449 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Court denied cert and as a result there will be a new trial in the case 14 years after the plaintiffs were terminated in a reduction-in-force.
Case Name: Merritt v. Wellpoint, Inc.
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. ED Va. Docket: 08-272
Read Read (PDF)
Case Result: In settlement of all claims, employer paid $2.6 million to the "collective" class consisting of 153 former Wellpoint employees.
Case Name: Mission Consol. Indep. School Dist. v. Garcia
Court: Supreme Ct. of Texas Docket: 10-0802
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Is an age discrimination claim brought under state law precluded if plaintiff is replaced by an older worker?
Case Name: Muhammad v. Stagecoach Group Court: NJ Superior Court, Union County Docket: UNN-L-003819-09 Case Issue: Does state's disability employment discrimination law permit employer to assess its employees with non-insulin treated diabetes based on federal standards for licensing drivers with insulin-treated diabetes? Case Name: Palmquist v. Shinseki
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 1st Cir. Docket: 11-2110 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does broad anti-bias terms of the Rehabilitation Act protect federal workers in a so-called "mixed motive" case where the federal agency would have made the same decision adverse to the employee even in the absence of a disability-related discriminatory motive? Case Name: Peterson v. Seagate US LLC Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Minn. Case Issue: Did employer engage in international or "disparate impact" age discrimination against plaintiffs in conducting a reduction-in-force that had dramatically adverse impact on older workers? Case Name: Ponce v. Billington
Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 11-5117
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Must a plaintiff suing under Title VII which provides that personnel actions of federal agencies must be "free from any discrimination," prove that his/her protected trait, i.e., race, color, religion, sex or national origin, was the sole cause of the adverse employment action being challenged?
Case Name: Powell v. Dallas Morning News
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 5th Cir. Docket: 11-10697
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Is excessive subjectivity in an employer's selection process for a reduction-in-force a proper basis for a disparate impact claim under the ADEA?
Case Name: Reid v. Google, Inc. Court: Cal. Supreme Ct. Docket: S158965 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Court concluded that evidence of "stray remarks" should be considered with all the evidence in the record because its categorical exclusion might lead to unfair results, declining to follow federal law that requires courts to view in isolation statements by coworkers and nondecisionmakers or comment unrelated to the employment decision being challenged and categorically exclude such evidence.
Case Name: Rhodes v. R + L Carriers, Inc. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir. Docket: 11-3054 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Should the age discrimination case have been dismissed for failure to notify defendants of the charges against them given the plaintiff's provision of numerous details underlying his claims? Case Name: Romero v. Allstate Ins. Corp. (2005)
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Pa. Read Case Issue: Did employer unlawfully retaliate against the plaintiffs (former agents) by filing counterclaims against them alleging (falsely) that the plaintiffs violated the terms of the release they were required to sign when they were terminated? Case Name: Romero v. Allstate Ins. Co. (2001)
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Pa. Read Case Issue: Did employer violate ERISA and/or the ADEA when it involuntarily terminated employee-agents, 90% of whom were older workers, in order to convert those willing to sign a release to independent contractor status? Case Name: Staub v. Proctor Hospital Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 09-400 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Employer may be liable for monetary damages for discrimination if the employer terminates the employee through the actions of a non-biased senior supervisor based on erroneous reports of misbehavior by immediate supervisors who have a specific intent to have the employee terminated due to their discriminatory animus against the employee.
Case Name: Thompson v. North American Stainless Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 09-291 Read and AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Employer may not retaliate against a worker who is a fiancée or close family member of a co-worker who has filed a charge of discrimination with a government agency.
Case Name: Victor v. New Jersey Court: NJ Supreme Ct. Docket: 63-285
Read and AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Court, although affirming a decision dismissing underlying claims-vacated lower court's ruling that held contrary to federal court decisions in similar cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act, that under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, it is necessary for a worker claiming disability-based employment discrimination in the form of his employer's refusal to afford him "reasonable accommodation" to prove a separate "adverse employment action" by the employer, above and beyond the failure to accommodate plaintiff's disabilities itself.
Case Name: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 10-277 Read and AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Court held that the class in this massive gender discrimination case had been improperly certified under Rule 23(b)(2), both because common questions were lacking under Rule 23(a)(2) and because the class had sought individualized monetary relief in addition to injunctive and declaratory relief.
Case Name: Whitaker v. 3M Co. Court: Minn. Dist. Ct.
Read
Case Issue: Is employer's "forced ranking" performance evaluation policies and its leadership training programs (Six Sigma and Advanced Leadership Development Program) operated with the purpose and/or effect of discriminating against workers over age 45, in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA)? Case Name: Young v. Bellofram Corp. Court: W. Va. Supreme Ct. Docket: 35439 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Court denied petition for rehearing of decision that in order for an age discrimination plaintiff to prevail, the individual they claim was treated more favorably must be outside the protected class, i.e., under 40.
Docket Employment Discrimination
Case Name: Alch v. Time Warner Entertainment Co., Inc. Court: Cal. Superior Ct., County of LA, Cent. Civ. W. Docket: BC 268836Case Issue: Does the television industry discriminate against older scriptwriters by denying them jobs and instead hiring younger writers almost exclusively because of the widely held assumption that older writers are incapable of writing material that will appeal to the younger audiences advertisers seek to cultivate? Case Name: Baker v. Beckton, Dickinson & Co. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir. Docket: 11-6273 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Did the district court improperly rely on impermissibly strict standard to exclude statements offered by plaintiff as direct evidence of age discrimination?
Case Name: Barton v. Zimmer, Inc. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 7th Cir. Docket: 10-2212 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Although the plaintiff was discriminated against because of her age, the ADEA provides no remedy because the plaintiff suffered no loss.
Case Name: Breeden v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 10-7073(L); 10-7078 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does Gross v. FBL holding that the ADEA's ban on workplace discrimination "because of" age precludes a "motivating factor" causation standard apply to retaliation claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) despite a U.S. Department of Labor rule that taking leave may not be a "negative factor" in any employment decision by an employer? Case Name: Coleman v. Maryland Ct. of App. Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 10-1016 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does the "self-care" provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act permit money damages from state employers, despite 11th Amendment sovereign immunity? Case Name: Dillon v. West Publishing Corp. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 9th Cir. Docket: 08-17759(L), 09-15055(XAP) Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Reversed jury verdict for plaintiff on grounds jury instructions referring to "motivating factor" standard of proof of age discrimination under ADEA did not comply with U.S. Supreme Court's Gross decision.
Case Name: Engers v. AT&T Management Pension Plan
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 3d Cir. Docket: 10-2752
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Compliance with section 4(i) of ADEA prohibiting the conversion of an employer's benefit accrual offers employers a complete defense to other age discrimination claims involving retirement benefits.
Case Name: Ford v. Mabus Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 09-5041 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Gross does not apply to ADEA claims of federal employees allowing them to pursue mixed-motives claims.
Case Name: Fuller v. Gates Court: U.S. Ct. App. 5th Cir. Docket: 11-40013 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does the Supreme Court "Gross" decision which prohibits "mixed-motives" claims under the so-called sector provision of the ADEA similarly preclude such claims under the federal sector provision of the statute? Case Name: Garcia v. 3M Co. Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Minn.
Read
Case Issue: Did employer violate the ADEA by basing its pay, promotion, and termination decisions about older employees on their ages? Case Name: Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 08-441 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Must a plaintiff present direct evidence of discrimination in order to obtain a mixed-motive instruction in a non-Title VII discrimination case? Case Name: Lee v. City of Columbus Court: U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir. Docket: 09-3899
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Policy that police employees provide their immediate supervisor, upon returning from more than three days of sick leave, a doctor's note identifying the condition that required them to be out of work does not violate the Rehabilitation Act because such a policy, even if it "may tend to " reveal information about employee disabilities, does not demonstrate discrimination "solely on the basis of disability."
Case Name: Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 09-1449 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Court denied cert and as a result there will be a new trial in the case 14 years after the plaintiffs were terminated in a reduction-in-force.
Case Name: Merritt v. Wellpoint, Inc.
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. ED Va. Docket: 08-272
Read Read (PDF)
Case Result: In settlement of all claims, employer paid $2.6 million to the "collective" class consisting of 153 former Wellpoint employees.
Case Name: Mission Consol. Indep. School Dist. v. Garcia
Court: Supreme Ct. of Texas Docket: 10-0802
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Is an age discrimination claim brought under state law precluded if plaintiff is replaced by an older worker?
Case Name: Muhammad v. Stagecoach Group Court: NJ Superior Court, Union County Docket: UNN-L-003819-09 Case Issue: Does state's disability employment discrimination law permit employer to assess its employees with non-insulin treated diabetes based on federal standards for licensing drivers with insulin-treated diabetes? Case Name: Palmquist v. Shinseki
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 1st Cir. Docket: 11-2110 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Does broad anti-bias terms of the Rehabilitation Act protect federal workers in a so-called "mixed motive" case where the federal agency would have made the same decision adverse to the employee even in the absence of a disability-related discriminatory motive? Case Name: Peterson v. Seagate US LLC Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Minn. Case Issue: Did employer engage in international or "disparate impact" age discrimination against plaintiffs in conducting a reduction-in-force that had dramatically adverse impact on older workers? Case Name: Ponce v. Billington
Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 11-5117
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Must a plaintiff suing under Title VII which provides that personnel actions of federal agencies must be "free from any discrimination," prove that his/her protected trait, i.e., race, color, religion, sex or national origin, was the sole cause of the adverse employment action being challenged?
Case Name: Powell v. Dallas Morning News
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 5th Cir. Docket: 11-10697
Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Issue: Is excessive subjectivity in an employer's selection process for a reduction-in-force a proper basis for a disparate impact claim under the ADEA?
Case Name: Reid v. Google, Inc. Court: Cal. Supreme Ct. Docket: S158965 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Court concluded that evidence of "stray remarks" should be considered with all the evidence in the record because its categorical exclusion might lead to unfair results, declining to follow federal law that requires courts to view in isolation statements by coworkers and nondecisionmakers or comment unrelated to the employment decision being challenged and categorically exclude such evidence.
Case Name: Rhodes v. R + L Carriers, Inc. Court: U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir. Docket: 11-3054 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Issue: Should the age discrimination case have been dismissed for failure to notify defendants of the charges against them given the plaintiff's provision of numerous details underlying his claims? Case Name: Romero v. Allstate Ins. Corp. (2005)
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Pa. Read Case Issue: Did employer unlawfully retaliate against the plaintiffs (former agents) by filing counterclaims against them alleging (falsely) that the plaintiffs violated the terms of the release they were required to sign when they were terminated? Case Name: Romero v. Allstate Ins. Co. (2001)
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Pa. Read Case Issue: Did employer violate ERISA and/or the ADEA when it involuntarily terminated employee-agents, 90% of whom were older workers, in order to convert those willing to sign a release to independent contractor status? Case Name: Staub v. Proctor Hospital Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 09-400 Read AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Employer may be liable for monetary damages for discrimination if the employer terminates the employee through the actions of a non-biased senior supervisor based on erroneous reports of misbehavior by immediate supervisors who have a specific intent to have the employee terminated due to their discriminatory animus against the employee.
Case Name: Thompson v. North American Stainless Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 09-291 Read and AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Employer may not retaliate against a worker who is a fiancée or close family member of a co-worker who has filed a charge of discrimination with a government agency.
Case Name: Victor v. New Jersey Court: NJ Supreme Ct. Docket: 63-285
Read and AARP's (PDF)
Case Result: Court, although affirming a decision dismissing underlying claims-vacated lower court's ruling that held contrary to federal court decisions in similar cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act, that under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, it is necessary for a worker claiming disability-based employment discrimination in the form of his employer's refusal to afford him "reasonable accommodation" to prove a separate "adverse employment action" by the employer, above and beyond the failure to accommodate plaintiff's disabilities itself.
Case Name: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 10-277 Read and AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Court held that the class in this massive gender discrimination case had been improperly certified under Rule 23(b)(2), both because common questions were lacking under Rule 23(a)(2) and because the class had sought individualized monetary relief in addition to injunctive and declaratory relief.
Case Name: Whitaker v. 3M Co. Court: Minn. Dist. Ct.
Read
Case Issue: Is employer's "forced ranking" performance evaluation policies and its leadership training programs (Six Sigma and Advanced Leadership Development Program) operated with the purpose and/or effect of discriminating against workers over age 45, in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA)? Case Name: Young v. Bellofram Corp. Court: W. Va. Supreme Ct. Docket: 35439 Read AARP's (PDF) Case Result: Court denied petition for rehearing of decision that in order for an age discrimination plaintiff to prevail, the individual they claim was treated more favorably must be outside the protected class, i.e., under 40.