Cornell v. North Wasco County School District No. 21

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiffs-Appellants, six retired teachers, appeal from the district court’s denial of their motion for judgment as a matter of law and/or a new trial following a jury verdict in favor of Defendant-Appellee North Wasco County School District No. 21. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The jury rejected Plaintiffs’ claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, finding that Plaintiffs failed to prove that the school district’s decision not to rehire them was because of age. Plaintiffs argue, however, that a policy adopted by the school district in 2008 facially violates the ADEA by limiting employment opportunities of older teachers who are receiving pensions. Plaintiffs’ argument' fails because the school district’s policy categorizes by pension status, and the Supreme Court has held that a pension status categorization is not facially impermissible, even if it is correlated with age. Kentucky Ret. Sys. v. EEOC, 554 U.S. 135, 142-48 , 128 S.Ct. 2361 , 171 L.Ed.2d 322 (2008); Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins, 507 U.S. 604, 608-11 , 113 S.Ct. 1701 , 123 L.Ed.2d 338 (1993).

Plaintiffs argue that their discrimination claims survive under EEOC…