Opinion ID: 698434
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Stone Failed to State a Claim under the ADEA

Text: 8 Stone's ADEA claim is quite an unusual one. In his First Amended Complaint, Stone alleged that Travelers denied him the option of taking his severance benefit in the form of a life annuity because he was not yet 55 years old and thus not eligible to be paid from the Travelers pension account. In other words, Stone claims that Travelers violated the ADEA by discriminating against him because he was too young! He contends that he may invoke the ADEA because, being over 40 years of age, he is in the protected class, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 631(a), and he may not be discriminated against because of his age, id. at Sec. 623(a)(1). 9 The district court, following the lead of the Seventh Circuit in Hamilton v. Caterpillar, Inc., 966 F.2d 1226, 1228 (7th Cir.1992), held that the ADEA simply does not provide a remedy for reverse age discrimination. We need not address the validity of that proposition, however, because the district court also identified a narrower ground of ruling that is clearly correct. Stone's grievance is that he was not offered his severance benefits in the form of a pension, as were employees over age 55. In other words, his ADEA claim is that he was denied pension benefits because he was under 55. The ADEA provides, however, that an employer does not violate the Act 10 solely because-- 11 (A) an employee pension benefit plan (as defined in section 1002(2) of this title) provides for the attainment of a minimum age as a condition of eligibility for normal or early retirement benefits 12 . . . . . 13 29 U.S.C. Sec. 623(l )(1)(A) (1995). This provision precludes Stone's claim. The district court accordingly did not err in holding that Stone failed to state a claim under the ADEA. 1 14