Opinion ID: 795097
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Age Discrimination in Workforce Reduction Cases

Text: 31 The ADEA prohibits employers from discriminating against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's age. 29 U.S.C. § 623(a). We apply the same analysis to age-discrimination claims brought under the THRA as those brought under the ADEA. See Johnson v. Collins & Aikman Auto. Interiors, Inc., No. 1:02-CV-365, 2004 WL 1854171, at  (E.D.Tenn. Feb. 26, 2004) (citing Campbell v. Fla. Steel Corp., 919 S.W.2d 26, 31 (Tenn.1996); Dennis v. White Way Cleaners, L.P., 119 S.W.3d 688, 693 (Tenn.Ct.App.2003)). 32 The Plaintiffs have conceded that they have no direct evidence of age discrimination. Moreover, there is no question that the Plaintiffs' positions were eliminated as part of The May Stores overall workforce reduction. Thus, to establish their age-discrimination claims, the Plaintiffs must satisfy the familiar burden-shifting framework set out in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), as modified for workforce-reduction cases. As we recently explained in Rowan: 33 According to this analysis, plaintiffs first establish a prima facie case of age discrimination. McDonnell Douglas v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). At that point the burden shifts to the defendant, who must give legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the adverse employment decision. LaPointe v. United Autoworkers Local 600, 8 F.3d 376, 379 (6th Cir.1993) (citing McDonnell, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817). If they do so, the burden shifts back to the plaintiffs, who must establish that the legitimate reasons offered by the defendant were just a pretext for decisions actually motivated by an unlawful bias against age. Id. . . . In order to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination, plaintiffs must show (1) that they were members of a protected age class; (2) that they were discharged; (3) that they were qualified for the positions they held; and (4) that they were replaced by a younger worker. Cox v. DOT, 53 F.3d 146, 150 (6th Cir.1995). However, in reduction in force cases like this one, the fourth prong is modified so that the plaintiffs must provide additional direct, circumstantial, or statistical evidence tending to indicate that the employer singled out the plaintiff for discharge for impermissible reasons. Ercegovich v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 154 F.3d 344, 350 (6th Cir.1998). If the plaintiffs have made out a prima facie case of discrimination, the defendant can be awarded summary judgment only if no reasonable jury could conclude that the reasons offered for the plaintiffs' dismissals were only a pretext hiding a discriminatory motive. 34 360 F.3d at 547-48. 35 The Plaintiffs' claims analytically fall into two distinct categories: (1) the elimination of their positions; and (2) the failure to receive an offer to transfer to another position within Hecht's. We address each category separately. See Ercegovich, 154 F.3d at 350-51.