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Jack Gross “never, never imagined” that he would be demoted after 13 straight years of top performance reviews, file an age discrimination lawsuit and end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. But it happened to Jack, and it could happen to your friend, family member, neighbor or coworker — or even to you.
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Jack is an Iowan with an all-American story — married his high school sweetheart; has a granddaughter born on the Fourth of July; at midlife bought his dream car, a 1962 Thunderbird. Then at age 54, after his employer merged with another outfit, Jack and every employee over 50 in a similar position was either offered a buyout or got demoted. Jack fought to win back the director title he had earned through his years of hard work and won an age discrimination suit on the merits. But when his case was appealed all the way to the top, the court changed the ground rules on how to prove age discrimination. It required a higher standard of proof of age discrimination than that required in race, religion or gender workplace discrimination cases, making it easier to discriminate against older workers.
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