Supreme Court to consider FedEx age bias suit

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether an age discrimination lawsuit filed by 14 FedEx Corp. employees is allowed to proceed.

In its writ of certiorari, the Memphis, Tenn.-based employer asserts that the employees' suit should be dismissed because they did not file a formal charge alleging age discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before they filed suit in April 2002 against FedEx.

Under federal law, plaintiffs must file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC at least 60 days before filing a lawsuit against their employer.

However, the plaintiffs claim that a form they filed with the EEOC in December 2001 included the information necessary to comply with that law, and that they should be allowed to proceed with their lawsuit.

In October 2002, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in FedEx's favor, finding that the plaintiffs had not met the time limit requirements. However, in March 2006, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York overturned that decision, allowing the case to proceed.