Posted on 01/16/2020 2:48:53 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The 64-year-old leader of the Supreme Court posed a question on Wednesday that some in his generation have been asking for months: Does saying OK, boomer count as age discrimination?
If the query hadnt been an earnest attempt to test the bounds of a lawyers legal argument, Chief Justice John Roberts might have followed it up with another viral expression: Asking for a friend.
But Roberts wasnt typing a tweet. This was a meeting of the highest court in the land, and its nine justices - older federal employees ranging from 52 to 86 years old - were hearing a case about the standard that older federal employees must meet when trying to prove age discrimination.
The case, Babb v. Wilkie, centers on Noris Babb, a pharmacist for the Department of Veterans Affairs who sued her employer, claiming that she was denied pay raises and promotions partly because of her age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act requires those working in the private sector or for state or local governments to show that age caused the discriminatory action.
Babbs lawyers have argued that differences between the laws federal and private-sector provisions mean that government workers must only prove that age was one among several factors that led to the negative action, making it easier for them to sue their employer.
Roberts was skeptical, quizzing Babbs attorney, Roman Martinez, and becoming the first person in Supreme Court history to invoke the popular OK, boomer meme as the chamber chuckled.
So calling somebody a boomer and considering them for a position would be actionable? Roberts asked.
Yes, Martinez replied, if the comment was one of the factors going into this decision, I think it absolutely would be covered.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Lol. Someone sai ok boomer to me on fb. I answered, hey squirt,grow up! Fb put me in jail for a week because I am such a bully!
One can reply...”Why you young PPOAE!)
When you get that young glazed snowflake quizzical look...you say..”Putrid Product of a Seminal Emission”(you little ‘squirt’!)
You can thank the nearly-completed Gramscian Marxist march through our institutions of learning.*
*There are a few holdouts left, such as Hillsdale College.
You’re Gen X, like me.
So suck it up, buttercup!
Ok Boomer is the same insolent snot the Boomers handed out to everyone who wasn’t them. It makes me laugh.
First Amendment. Does the boss admit that “boomer” is a reference to age/generation and not just a nickname of some sort?
Maybe it was a sexual innuendo, but then she would claim gender discrimination.
Age discrimination exists because most young people are inexperienced morons. They can get smarter with age and wisdom, or prove they are the exception to the rule.
Younger workers aren’t protected from age discrimination.
The question which a lot of posters have missed is, “if the boss makes a comment of ‘OK, boomer’ to a subordinate, then doesn’t select that person for a job he or she applied for, is it proof that it was age discrimination?” Apparently the standard is that it has to be only one factor in the decision for federal employees.
Attorney for the plaintiff told CJ that it was. I got the impression that the CJ’s question was hypothetical, but I’m not sure.
I just reply Awww, thats so cute! with a big smile.
I’ll concede ignorance of the law itself, but there is an element of common sense that must be applied here. People get promoted, or should get promoted, based on the quality of the work they did in their previous role. Age shouldn’t really factor at all in most cases, except those cases where age actually is a factor in the ability to perform the job (extreme/absurd example, e.g. hiring a 75 year old infantry soldier for a 4 year tour).
I agree, just a comment about her age doesn’t make it de facto discrimination.
FR: Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponents Argument
Every judge in the country should always first check if an action or law of the unconstitutionally big (hint) federal government is reasonably justifiable under one of Congresss constitutionally enumerated powers, Congresss Article I, Section 8-limited powers a good place to start.
From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added]. United States v. Butler, 1936.
In this case, the only age-related right affecting all citizens that the states have amended the Constitution to expressly protect deals only with voting rights issues, evidenced by the 19th Amendment.
"19th Amendment:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation [emphasis added]."
But since the referenced case clearly does not deal with voting rights issues, Congress has no express power to deal with the kind of age discrimination presented by this case. So were back to prohibited federal government powers clarified in the Butler excerpt above imo.
In other words, President Lyndon B. Johnson probably should never have signed the constitutionally indefensible, Democratic vote-winning Age Discrimination in Employment Act into law imo.
So with all due respect to Justice Roberts, if he wants to find something unconstitutional, then he should consider that school children who are up to speed with the significance of constitutionally enumerated rights might point out that frivolous court cases in the queue are probably compromising the 6th Amendment-protected right to a speedy trial for other cases in the queue.
Corrections, insights welcome.
Remember in November!
MAGA! Now KAGA! (Keep America Great Always!)
Free speech doesn’t change with age.
We’re all Boomer now.
But I was the first one here. Heeeeeeee... :D
PS: My favorite response when someone says “Okay boomer” to me is “okay snowflake”. They usually give me an LOL smiley and we both move on.
The “OK Boomer” is lame. Can’t the kids come up with anything more creative?
Two more appointments and Roberts doesn’t matter.
Actually, it’s the 26th Amendment that deals with age.
Mea culpa!
And I knew that too.
Thanks for keeping an eye on me.
LOL!
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