Kleber v. CareFusion Corp.

In March 2014, Kleber, an attorney, applied for a senior inhouse position in CareFusion’s law department. The job description required applicants to have “3 to 7 years (no more than 7 years) of relevant legal experience.” Kleber was 58 and had more than seven years of pertinent experience. CareFusion hired a 29-year-old applicant who met but did not exceed the experience requirement. Kleber filed suit, alleging disparate treatment and disparate impact under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. 623(a)(2). The district court dismissed Kleber’s disparate impact claim, reasoning that the text of section 4(a)(2) did not extend to outside job applicants. Kleber then voluntarily dismissed his separate claim for disparate treatment liability to appeal. Following en banc review, the Seventh Circuit affirmed. The plain language of section 4(a)(2) makes clear that Congress, while protecting employees from disparate impact age discrimination, did not extend that same protection to outside job applicants; that reading is reinforced by the ADEA’s broader structure and history. View "Kleber v. CareFusion Corp." on Justia Law