What Showing Must a Plaintiff Make to Avoid Summary Judgment in an Age Discrimination Case?
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 USC §§ 621-623, was adopted in 1967 to prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment. 29 USC § 621(b). It has been claimed by some, and I believe erroneously, that the Ninth Circuit’s December 24, 1996, decision in Nidds v. Schindler Elevator Corporation, 103 F.3d 854 (9th Cir. 1996), requires a claimant to prove by direct evidence a pretext and a discriminatory reason for discharge in order to avoid summary judgment. Nidds was a highly experienced, well-liked, 56-year-old elevator service mechanic when he and two other service mechanics were discharged by Schindler Elevator Corporation. Not long before Nidds was laid off, Schindler’s District Service Supervisor told another service mechanic that he intended to get rid of all the “old timers” because they would not “kiss my ass.” Shortly after Nidds was discharged, his route was assigned to a 25-year-old apprentice, who had passed his mechanic’s test only 30 days earlier. A clas
