Jeremy Carroll and Julian Harf won summary judgment in Federal Court for a local government in an age discrimination case. In the lawsuit, a former employee alleged she was discriminated against and denied a promotion because of her age, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The former employee also filed a constructive discharge claim alleging she was forced to resign because of the employer’s failure to promote her and because of intolerable work conditions.

The ADEA is a federal law that prohibits age discrimination against employees and job applicants who are age 40 and over in all aspects of employment, including in hiring, promotions, wages, benefits, job termination and layoffs. Separately, for a constructive discharge claim, the employee must demonstrate that the employer intentionally created an adverse work atmosphere that was so difficult or unpleasant that any reasonable person in the employee’s situation would have felt compelled to resign.

Ultimately, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia granted the locality’s motion for summary judgment. As to the failure to promote claim, the former employee failed to prove she would have received the promotion “but for” her age. In addition, the court found that the employer’s decision to not promote her does not by itself constitute a constructive discharge, nor could the two alleged instances of improper conduct that occurred after her resignation support a constructive discharge claim.

The defendant has appealed her case to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

For the full text of the Court’s opinion, please click here.