Q: Know of any famous age discrimination cases?
A:
The one that comes to mind to me is Michael B. Montgomery v. The Board of Trustees of Purdue University. In a 14-page opinion (dissent on p. 14), Justice Boehm writes:
We hold that units of state government with twenty or more employees are subject to the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and therefore are not governed by the Indiana Age Discrimination Act. We also hold that there is no private civil damage remedy under the Indiana Age Discrimination Act.
Purdue University employed Michael Montgomery from 1973 until he was terminated in 2002 at the age of 57 or 58. In May 2003, Montgomery sued Purdue’s Board of Trustees (“Purdue”) in Tippecanoe Superior Court alleging that the Indiana Age Discrimination Act (“IADA”) “creates a public policy exception to employment at will” and that Montgomery’s termination was because of his age and therefore in violation of the Act. * * *
We conclude that Purdue is subject to the ADEA and is therefore exempt from the IADA, and also that the IADA does not provide for private civil actions. For these reasons, the trial court properly dismissed Montgomery’s complaint for wrongful dismissal under the IADA for failure to state a claim. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Shepard, C.J., Dickson and Sullivan, JJ. concur.
Rucker, J., dissents with separate opinion.
I respectfully dissent. Mr. Montgomery is ensnarled in a trap that can best be characterized as a “Catch-22.”1 He was fired from his job because of his age and seeks relief under Indiana’s Age Discrimination Act. The majority says he is entitled to no such relief because his remedy is with the Federal Act. But Kimel teaches that persons like Mr. Montgomery must seek relief under state statutes. Indeed Kimel itself identified Indiana as among a majority of states in which “employees are protected by state age discrimination statutes, and may recover money damages from their state employers . . . .” Kimel v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 91 (2000). So here we have an employee fired because of age but in effect has no remedy, according to today’s opinion, despite both state and federal legislation designed to protect employees fired because of age. Certainly the legislature could not have intended the result reached in this case.
Paul Overhauser
317 891-1500
www.overhauser.com
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