Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Baltimore County

EEOC v. Baltimore County: Age Discrimination in Retirement Benefits

This case involved Baltimore County's retirement system, which required employees of different ages to make different contribution rates even when they had the same number of years until retirement. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the county, claiming this practice illegally discriminated against workers based on their age.

A lower court initially ruled in favor of Baltimore County, accepting the county's argument that the different contribution rates were justified by financial calculations involving the "time value of money." However, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.

The appeals court found the county's reasoning was factually flawed. The court pointed out that employees with identical years until retirement could face different contribution rates based solely on how old they were, which suggested age discrimination rather than legitimate financial considerations.

What this means for workers: This ruling reinforces that employers cannot use age as a factor in determining retirement contribution rates when age is not actually relevant to the financial calculation. Workers should be treated equally regardless of age when their circumstances are otherwise the same, including in retirement benefit programs.