Karla Grossenbacher Published in Employment Law Strategist
“Can Your Retirement Plan Survive an ADEA Claim?”

Karla Grossenbacher’s article, “Can Your Retirement Plan Survive an ADEA Claim?” was published in the January 2010 issue of the Employment Law Strategist. Her article discusses Supreme Court findings in Kentucky Retirement Systems v. EEOC which held that where an employer adopts a pension plan that includes age as a factor, and then treats employees differently based on their pension status, the employer will only be liable for disparate treatment under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) if the plaintiff can provide sufficient evidence to show that the differential treatment was actually motivated by age and not pension status.

According to Karla’s article, the Supreme Court relied on six factors to determine that the pension plan at issue in Kentucky did not violate the ADEA. She points out that although employers have been tempted to transform the Supreme Court’s reliance on these six factors into a bright-line “six-factor” test, they can apply to determine whether or not their retirement plans comply with the ADEA. Karla recommends that employers use this touchstone to evaluate its retirement plan instead.