No age discrimination protections for small political subdivisions, 9th Circuit rules
Arizona’s smallest towns and fire districts do not have the same protections against federal age-discrimination lawsuits as small private companies, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by the Mount Lemmon Fire District that the federal law does not apply to government employers of fewer than 20 workers. That, the attorneys said, means the men have no legal right to claim they were fired because of their age.
But Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, said that’s not the way Congress wrote the law.
Monday’s ruling does not mean that either John Guido or Dennis Rankin, both in their 40s when they were terminated, will get their jobs back. But unless overturned, it means they will get a chance to make their case to a jury in federal court.
Arizona’s smallest towns and fire districts do not have the same protections against federal age-discrimination lawsuits as small private companies, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by the Mount Lemmon Fire District that the federal law does not apply to government employers of fewer than 20 workers. That, the attorneys said, means the men have no legal right to claim they were fired because of their age. But Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, said that’s not the way Congress wrote the law. Monday’s ruling does not mean that either John Guido or Dennis Rankin, both in their 40s when they were terminated, will get their jobs back. But unless overturned, it means they will get a chance to make their case to a jury in federal court.