37 Fair empl.prac.cas. 1346, 37 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 35,269, 6 Employee Benefits Ca 1629

**Union Electric Company Age Discrimination Case (1985)** This case involved Union Electric Company's group life insurance plan, which had a rule that employees could only enroll if they were under 40 years old. Older workers who wanted to join the plan after turning 40 were denied coverage. Some employees claimed this age restriction violated federal age discrimination laws and sued the company. The court sided with Union Electric Company. The judges ruled that the insurance plan's age cutoff did not illegally discriminate against older workers. They found two key reasons for this decision: first, all employees had the same opportunity to enroll in the insurance plan when they were first hired, regardless of age. Second, the 40-year age limit was based on legitimate insurance calculations that determined risk and costs. **What this means for workers:** This ruling shows that employers can set age limits on certain employee benefits like insurance plans, as long as these limits are based on sound business reasons like actuarial data. However, all employees must have equal opportunity to participate when first hired. Workers should pay attention to benefit enrollment deadlines and age restrictions when starting new jobs.