In Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court held that employees may bring disparate impact claims under the Age Discrimination inEmploymentAct(ADEA). Asaresult, olderworkerscannowpursuean ADEA claim if they are disproportionately harmed by a policy that their employer applies to its entire workforce, even if the resulting adverse impact on workers older than 40 is unintentional. This article reviews the ruling and discusses the implications of the revisions on the work of public personnel managers.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621 (1967).
2.
Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971).
3.
Kimel v. Florida Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62 (2000).
4.
Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi, 544 U.S. (2005).
5.
U. S. Department of Labor. (1981). The older American worker: Age discrimination in employment in legislative history of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
6.
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 409 U.S. 642 (1989).
