539 U.S. __ (2020) (slip opinion)
No. 18-882
Babb was a pharmacist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She claimed that she was discriminated against based on age when the VA took away her opportunity for promotion, denied her training opportunities, and reduced her holiday pay. She argued that 29 U.S.C. §633(a) (part of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act) meant that any age discrimination in the decision-making process was unlawful. The Government argued that the standard should be that but for the age discrimination, the outcome of the employment action would have been different. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that any employment actions must be untainted by age, but in order to receive a remedy that relates to the end result of an employment action (reinstatement, damages, etc.), the age discrimination must have been a but-for cause.
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Attorney Angel did not represent this employee, but he does represent employees in federal court.