NSBA files amicus brief in Kentucky Retirement Systems v. EEOC
NSBA has filed an amicus brief, below, with the U.S. Supreme Court in Kentucky Retirement Systems v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, No. 06-1037. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought suit against KRS over the early retirement incentive plan (ERIP) it provides for law enforcement officers, alleging the plan violates the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). In a decision also below, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc (i.e., with all active judges hearing the case), ruled the retirement program facially discriminatory because age is a factor in the determination of benefits. In NSBA’s view, the decision, if allowed to stand, would threaten thousands of public school district retirement benefit plans, adversely impact public school budgets, and chill the collective bargaining process between school boards and labor unions. The brief argues that early retirement incentive plans are voluntary, fiscally sound, and desired by employees, and that the ADEA prohibits only arbitrary age-based employment decisions grounded in stereotypes, not mere consideration of age in determining retirement benefits. Principal authors on the brief were Shamus P. O’Meara and Mark R. Azman of Johnson & Condon, P.A. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, members of the NSBA Council of School Attorneys, whose services were pro bono.
NSBA amicus brief
Sixth Circuit en banc decision