Although the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) both prohibit discrimination against employees based on age (if they're 40 or older), a recent decision from the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Missouri) provides another reminder of how current Missouri law, as interpreted by our state courts, favors employees in a way that federal law does not. As a result, employees are increasingly exercising the option to file their discrimination lawsuits in state court under Missouri law rather than relying on federal statutes like the ADEA. Read on to see what can happen when an employee files a discrimination claim under both state and federal law.
In 1992, Eddy Clark was hired by the St. Louis Graphics Division of Matthews International Corporation. At the time he was hired, he was 43 years old. The Graphics Division provides graphic design services to commercial vendor and has facilities across the United States. Clark designed corrugated-cardboard packaging and this packaging was the primary service provided by the St. Louis Graphics Division when Clark was hired. However, by 2000, the market had changed and the company's share of the corrugated packaging market was shrinking. As a result the company sought to diversify its packaging design services and began designing primary packaging, requiring more advanced skills.
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