AGE DISCRIMINATION

A US supreme court ruling 4-5 in the case of age discrimination has shifted the burden of proof on the employee who claims age discrimination. This will be a disadvantage to employees because proving that it was age and no other reason would like prove to be much more difficult to prove in a court of law. The burden of proof rests solely on the employee overturning long standing precedent and practice that was fairer to the employee. In the past the employer had the burden of producing evidence that showed bona fide reason for terminating an employee and an employee only had to show some sort of inference of age discrimination.

In Canada employees are protected under the Human Rights Code from age discrimination. In Manitoba there is no mandatory retirement. An employer would have to find other bona fide reasons for asking an older employee to resign from their job.
One has to ask whether this decision in favour of employers in the United States will have ripple effect in Canada. Canadian employers continue to complain about the strangehold human rights laws have on their businesses and bottom line.

Read the following opinion piece in today's NYT

Editorial - Age Discrimination - NYTimes.com