Third Circuit Upholds Subgroup Disparate Impact Claims Under The ADEA

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently created a circuit split when it disagreed with prior decisions from the Second, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits regarding the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). In Karlo v. Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC, No. 15-3435 (January 10, 2017), the Third Circuit held that "subgroup" disparate impact claims are cognizable under the ADEA.

Factual Background

Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC is an automotive glass manufacturer in Pennsylvania. During the recession, the company implemented several mass layoffs, one of which resulted in the discharge of 100 employees on March 31, 2009. The company gave broad discretion to unit directors in selecting who would be laid off; it did not provide training or guidelines for selection, nor did it document why certain employees were laid off.