A Verdict for Workers, for a Change
The Supreme Court ruled last week that a group of employees suing for age discrimination should get their day in court even though they filed their complaint on the wrong form. The decision is noteworthy because it suggests that this court could be pulling back from what has often seemed like a knee-jerk inclination to rule for corporations over workers and consumers.
A group of couriers over the age of 40 sued Federal Express, claiming it tried to push out older workers. The issue was whether they submitted a proper complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within the legal time limit. FedEx claimed the couriers filed the wrong form, but the court ruled, 7 to 2, that an intake questionnaire and a signed affidavit — which the E.E.O.C. considered a valid complaint — met its “permissive standard” for what was acceptable.
It is surprising and welcome to see the court apply any sort of permissive standard, considering how it ruled in a similar case just last year. Through a tortured and illogical reading of the law, the court ruled, 5 to 4, that a Goodyear employee missed the deadline for filing a complaint that she was paid less than male colleagues.
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