Spirit Age Discrimination Appeal Tests Layoff as Pattern of Bias

Former Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. employees’ bid to revive their systemic age discrimination claim may turn on whether the Tenth Circuit agrees that a special proof scheme can be used in one-time workforce reduction cases.

The consequences for workers and employers could be substantial should the Denver-based appeals court reach that novel question. The group of older Spirit employees leading the 2016 class lawsuit say the judge who dismissed the case without holding a trial should be reversed for wrongly limiting and weighing the evidence.

The workers have the backing of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the broader legal ...