THE REALITY OF AGE DISCRIMINATION IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS WITH LEGAL CONSEQUENCES.

This article presents study, which provides empirical evidence to highlight the salience of this decision: results indicate that over half of the reasons cited for a layoff decision about the older worker had nothing to do with performance, and most were based specifically on age and age-related stereotypes. Over 80% of the reasons that specifically cited age produced a negative outcome, for the older worker. The stakes for employers have been raised significantly by a unanimous Supreme Court decision handed down in June 2000 that dramatically changes the way courts must consider evidence in age discrimination cases. The importance of the case, Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products Inc., lies in the newly articulated evidentiary standard that the Supreme Court placed on businesses to produce a legitimate, non-biased reason for termination of an older worker that the jury finds to be credible.