Litigation Waivers and Age Discrimination

Robert D. Lee

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DOI: 10.2190/A8PX-3GJV-PHM0-ATTN

Abstract

In response to perceived abuse by employers in demanding employees sign waivers from litigation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Congress in 1990 passed the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act. The law's numerous provisions specify under what conditions waivers are valid. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled in Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc. that employees, after signing waivers and deciding they had been victims of age discrimination, may file suits against their former employers without having to tender back benefits received at the time their employment ended. Also in 1998 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued regulations intended to clarify the application of OWBPA's requirements. Numerous legal issues remain despite the Court's decision and the EEOC's regulations.

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