Dealing with age discrimination in America is a problem for baby boomers as they deal with wanting to work and the employer wanting younger employees. Nearly every middle-aged and older worker will at some time in their career suffer age discrimination in the workplace (Gregory, 2001, p. 1). The Supreme Court of the United States is intervening into how companies hire and fire their workers by establishing rules that employers must follow in human resource departments. The Supreme Court applies the same standard for determining discriminatory intent in age cases as it applies to cases brought under race, gender, and national origin cases. They also consider hostile work environments as a way to force an employee out of the workplace. .
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported in 2012 that job bias charges filed were nearly 100,000 cases in fiscal year 2012 (EEOC 2012). The fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) data revels that it received 99,412 private sector workplace discrimination charges during fiscal year 2012, down slightly from the previous year complaints. The fiscal year 2012 enforcement and litigation statistics, which include trend data, are available on the EEOC's website according to the EEOC. .
Facts of the Case.
Archie Hale's relationship with ABF, a trucking company based in Arkansas with a terminal in Chattanooga, Tennessee began in 1982. ABF employed Hale as an Operations Supervisor at its Chattanooga shipping terminal. Hale left ABF two years later for a different job paying a better wage. In 1997, the ABF terminal branch manager for Chattanooga, Pam Laney, contacted Hale to ask if he was interested in a job opening as an Operations Supervisor at ABF's Chattanooga terminal. Hale was again hired by ABF for the same position and remained with ABF until his termination twelve years later on October 5, 2009. Although at that time, the two employees had not previously worked together.
