Docket nos. 08-441 End date 2009 | Citations 557 U.S. 167 (more) | |
Full case name Jack Gross, Petitioner v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. Majority Thomas, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Alito Dissent Stevens, joined by Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer Dissent Breyer, joined by Souter, Ginsburg Similar Price Waterhouse v Hopkins, Ledbetter v Goodyear, Ricci v DeStefano, Wards Cove Packing, Griggs v Duke Power Co | ||
Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U.S. 167 (2009), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2009, involving the standard of proof required for a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
Jack Gross, an employee of FBL Financial Services, Inc., was transferred to another position and a former subordinate took on many of Gross' old responsibilities. They both received the same compensation, but Gross believed his reassignment was a demotion. Gross brought suit against FBL in April 2004 in District Court, claiming ADEA violations. The court found in his favor and awarded him $46,945 in lost compensation. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the decision. The Supreme Court affirmed that reversal, finding that a plaintiff must prove by preponderance of evidence, that age was the "but for" cause of the adverse employment action.