Jackson Free Press

The NewStandard reports:

In a decision that has strengthened legislation outlawing age discrimination in the workplace, the United States Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 does apply to situations where an employer indirectly engages in age discrimination against workers who are 40 years of age or older.

The judgment was issued in connection with the case Smith et al. v. City of Jackson, Mississippi et al., in which 30 police and public safety officers employed by the City of Jackson alleged that their employer had discriminated against them based on age by way of a new personnel pay plan.

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Here's Mayor Johnson's reply to the ruling, e-mailed by Chris Mims: Mayor's Reaction to today's Supreme Court Ruling "The United States Supreme Court today upheld the cityís pay plan as it was applied to police officers, finding that the pay plan did not violate the federal age discrimination laws. The pay plan was designed to recruit and retain sworn police officers. I have no doubt that the pay plan helped to get us to where we are today with 500 sworn officers and a 21% reduction in crime. "The Supreme Courtís opinion, authored by Justice Stevens, found the Cityís pay plan to be ìunquestionably reasonableî and addressed the Cityís desire to retain new officers. Jackson City Attorney Terry Wallace was part of the legal team that appeared before the high court to argue the case last fall. This is an historic occasion for the city legal department, who for the first time handled a case in the highest court in the land and came out victorious."

DonnaLadd

Apr 3 2005