Conflicting with a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (see C&C Newsletter for November, 1998, item 26), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that states charged with violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act do not have immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution. (Remember that Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to abrogate the states' sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment if Congress unequivocally expresses that intent and validly exercises its enforcement power.) Following a majority of other courts that have decided the same issue, the Second Circuit found that ADEA was properly adopted pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Cooper v. New York State Office of Mental Health, Case No. 97-9433 (2d Cir., December 23, 1998).
Second Circuit Holds that Eleventh Amendment does not Immunizes State from ADEA Claim
This article was edited and reviewed by FindLaw Attorney Writers | Last reviewed March 26, 2008
This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and attorneys and in accordance with our editorial standards.
The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area.
Was this helpful?