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SCOTUS Interprets the ADEA to Apply to State Entities Regardless of Size

By Zachary Anstett

Last week the Supreme Court held in Mt. Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, No. 17-587, 2018 WL 5794639 (U.S. Nov. 6, 2018), that state and local governments are “employers” covered by the ADEA regardless of their size. The unanimous opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s decision that 29 U.S.C. § 630(b)’s two sentence structure and the expression “also means” at the start of the second sentence establish separate categories of what it means to be an “employer” under the ADEA. The unanimous decision did not include Justice Kavanaugh.

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