Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell

Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 14, 1985 Decided June 17, 1985
Full case name	Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell
Citations	472 U.S. 400 (more)
Argument	Oral argument
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinion
Majority	Stevens, joined by Burger, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, O'Connor
Marshall took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell, 472 U.S. 400 (1985), is a US labor law case before the United States Supreme Court concerning age discrimination.

Background

Western Air Lines required flight engineers to retire at age 60. Plaintiffs were forced to retire at 60 and brought suit at the Federal District Court. Defendant argued that the age requirement was a bona fide occupational qualification that was reasonably necessary for the airline's safe operations. The case proceeded to trial and a jury found for the plaintiffs after a trial.^[1]

Statutory background

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits mandatory retirement prior to age 70, but section 4(f)(1) provides an exception: "where age is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business."^[2][3][4]

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court held that it was lawful to require airline pilots to retire at 60, because the Federal Aviation Administration forbade using pilots over 60 in aviation. But the Court held that refusing to employ flight engineers over that age was unjustified as there were no such FAA requirements.^[5][1][6]

See also

• United States labor law
• ADEA

References

1. "WESTERN AIR LINES, INC. v. CRISWELL, 472 U.S. 400 (1985)". FindLaw.
2. "Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967". US EEOC. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
3. "bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
4. "29 U.S. Code § 623 - Prohibition of age discrimination". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
5. "U.S. Reports: Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell, 472 U.S. 400 (1985)". Library of Congress. 1984. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
6. "Western Air Lines v. Criswell, 472 U.S. 400 (1985)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2024-09-26.

External links

• Text of Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell, 472 U.S. 400 (1985) is available from: Findlaw Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)