EEOC to Clarify Right of Older Workers to Sue

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plans to issue new regulations today, including one that allows workers who accept severance pay in exchange for waiving their right to sue for age discrimination to challenge those agreements in court without having to first return that money. The new rule is meant to clarify a 1998 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said workers who sign such agreements can still sue their employers if the agreements do not meet federal requirements. Some lawyers and employers’ groups have criticized the new rule, saying it would lead to a wave of lawsuits by employees who now have nothing to lose. They also say employers now could be less likely to offer these types of severance packages. The EEOC said, however, that it is only trying to fill in holes left by the Supreme Court and to make it easier for older workers to test the validity of these agreements in court. In 1998, the Supreme Court said a person may not forfeit his right to sue, even if he has accepted severance pay, if the agreement does not meet federal requirements aimed at protecting against age bias.