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VILLARREAL V. RJR TOBACCO
Issue: Employment
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Questions Presented En Banc:
I. Whether § 4(a)(2) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(2), permits applicants for employment to bring disparate-impact claims on the basis of an employer’s failure to hire the applicant.
II. Whether Mr. Villarreal sufficiently pleaded equitable tolling to survive a motion to dismiss.
RLC's Position:
The RLC submitted an amicus brief asking the Eleventh Circuit to affirm the trial court's holding that Section 4(a)(2) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) does not authorize disparate impact age discrimination claims on behalf of job applicants. Overturning the lower court's decision would imperil programs in which retailers participate to provide work experience that may otherwise not be available to recent graduates and underserved communities.
Case Outcome:
The Eleventh Circuit held that the ADEA does authorize impact claims by applicants for employment. The judgment below was reversed and remanded. The employer filed a petition for rehearing en banc, which was granted.
Procedural History & Case Documents:
- Appellant brief filed March 2015.
- Appellee brief filed April 2015.
- Appellant reply brief filed May 2015.
- Oral argument held July 2015.
- Decision in issued November 2015.
- RJR's petition for rehearing en banc filed January 2016.
- RLC amicus brief in support of the petition for rehearing en banc filed January 2016.
- 11th Circuit's order granting petition for rehearing en banc February 2016.