Justices Mull Age Bias Law’s Hold on Small Government Employers (1)

Federal employment law prohibits even the smallest state and local government entities from discriminating against a worker based on age, the lawyer for a pair of Arizona firefighters told the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 1.

At issue is whether the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to Mount Lemmon Fire District, a local “special district” in southern Arizona’s Sky Islands, and similarly small political subdivisions.

The district, which provides fire, EMS, and related services to three communities in Coronado National Forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains, has fewer than 20 employees. It argued to the justices that the ADEA ...