The Special Problem of the “Younger Older Worker”: Reverse Age Discrimination and the ADEA

Authors

  • Amy L. Schuchman

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/lawreview.2003.20

Abstract

Mention the word discrimination, and most people picture a member of a minority class who an employer refuses to hire because of his or her protected class status. Mention the words age discrimination, and most people picture an older worker, someone with graying hair who has dedicated his or her adult life to the same job, but now was fired in favor of “a newer model” who, supposedly, has twice the productivity and half the cost. But mention the words age discrimination to the Sixth Circuit, and they paint a very different picture. Cline v. General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. was the first case in the nation to explicitly allow younger employees to sue because of a claim that their employer treated older workers more favorably. Although one commentator has acknowledged that the issue of reverse age discrimination presents “a deep puzzle,” one other commentator and several courts quickly dismissed the idea as “bizarre” because Congress’s intent was allegedly “unmistakable.”

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Published

2003-04-26

How to Cite

Schuchman, Amy L. 2003. “The Special Problem of the ‘Younger Older Worker’: Reverse Age Discrimination and the ADEA”. University of Pittsburgh Law Review 65 (2). https://doi.org/10.5195/lawreview.2003.20.

Issue

Vol. 65 No. 2 (2003)

Section

Note

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