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Smith V. City Of Jackson: Disparate Impact In Age Discrimination Cases, Michael Leedom

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In the wake of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, an act which protected minorities and women from employment discrimination but did not prohibit discrimination based on age, Congress enacted the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (hereinafter "ADEA"). This act prohibits an employer from taking actions which "would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's age." At first glance, this statutory prohibition would seem to be very similar to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and indeed the …