Law Firm Partner Forced to Retire Not Protected by Age Bias Law

Armstrong Teasdale LLP’s mandatory partner retirement policy doesn’t violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act because partners aren’t covered employees, the Eighth Circuit said Dec. 3, deciding a matter of first impression.

Looking to how the term has been interpreted by other courts, under the ADEA and other federal anti-discrimination laws, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said equity partner Joseph S. von Kaenel wasn’t a firm “employee” when he was forced to retire at age 70.

In particular, the appeals court looked to a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a disability bias suit, which established ...