Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

The Seventh Circuit gave an unexpected answer when asked:  is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) the exclusive remedy for federal age discrimination?   Deciding an issue of first impression for that court, it said no.  Levin v. Madigan, 7th Circuit, No. 11-2820, August 17, 2012.   The Seventh Circuit is an outlier, as every other circuit to consider the question (the 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th and D.C. Circuits) has held the ADEA is the sole remedy for federal age discrimination claims.

On December 6, 2011, just five days after it heard oral arguments in the case, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a victory for a transgender woman, Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn, who sued her former employer, the Georgia state legislature, for violating the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.  A three-judge panel unanimously affirmed a summary judgment for the plaintiff, who was fired from the General Office of Legislative Council for undergoing a gender transition.