Georgia Age Discrimination Information

In a case decided by the Supreme Court, the petitioner, Mr. Reeves, alleged that he was terminated from his supervisory position at Sanderson Plumbing Products because of age discrimination. He filed suit in district court and the case went before a jury. In accordance with McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green 411 U.S. 792 (1973), Reeves first made a prima facie case of age discrimination and then the burden shifted to the employer to show a nondiscriminatory reason for the termination.

The employer's testimony and documentation included reasons such as Reeves' shoddy record-keeping and the fact that he failed to discipline his employees who were absent and late. The burden then shifted back to Reeves and he was able to show that the employer's reasons were false. For example, he showed that he had no authority to discipline employees who were absent and late--this authority was held by his supervisor. The jury returned a verdict in Reeves' favor. Sanderson Plumbing then brought the case to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit who reversed, finding that Reeves had not introduced sufficient evidence for a rational jury to conclude that he had been discharged because of his age.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeals as to whether a plaintiff's prima facie case of discrimination, as defined in McDonnell Douglas, combined with sufficient evidence for a reasonable factfinder to reject the employer's nondiscriminatory explanation for its decision, is adequate to sustain a finding of liability for intentional discrimination. It decided that in this case the Court of Appeals erred in proceeding from the premise that a plaintiff must always introduce additional, independent evidence of discrimination and that the court erred in overturning the jury's verdict.

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