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Supreme Court OKs Discrimination Against the Young NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a law protecting older workers from age discrimination on the job doesn't permit workers over 40 to sue employers for giving better benefits to older colleagues. The court, in the 6-3 decision, said that a federal anti-discrimination law was meant to protect older workers from preferential treatment given to younger workers but that the law did not apply in reverse. The case had been closely watched because about 70 million U.S. workers are 40 or older, roughly half the nation's work force. The decision blocks a lawsuit over a change in benefits that helped older workers at a division of General Dynamics Corp., which makes battle tanks and combat vehicles for the military. The Supreme Court reversed an appeals court decision that said the company could be sued under the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which protects people over age 40 from bias. General Dynamics had maintained that Congress intended to protect "older" employees. Justice David Souter, writing for the majority, agreed. "The statute does not mean to stop an employer from favoring an older employee over a younger one," he wrote. But in a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas complained "this should have been an easy case." The law, he said, "clearly allows for suits brought by the relatively young when discriminated against in favor of the relatively old." Also in dissent were Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy.
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