Ahlmeyer

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On October 17, 2005, Ahlmeyer filed a complaint in dis- trict court against the Nevada System of Higher Education (“NSHE”) and her former supervisor Mike Reed. The com- plaint alleged that Ahlmeyer, who was over forty years old, was not allowed to take classes during work hours and was denied requests for an assistant, unlike her younger coworker. Ahlmeyer also contended she was written up and given sub- standard evaluations based on actions for which younger employees were not reprimanded. The complaint contained three claims, only one of which is at issue in this appeal:1 the NSHE violated the ADEA.

The NSHE and Reed moved for partial summary judgment on Ahlmeyer’s ADEA claim, on the basis that the claim was barred by the Eleventh Amendment to the federal Constitution.2 In response, Ahlmeyer moved to amend her complaint and replace the ADEA claim with a § 1983 claim against Reed personally, based on claimed age discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Under Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, 528 U.S. 62 (2000), the district court concluded 1 Ahlmeyer also contended (1) the NSHE unlawfully retaliated against her…