The nation's high court this morning agreed to decide whether Mount Lemmon Fire District is exempt from age-discrimination laws.
In a brief order, the U.S. Supreme Court said it wants to hear arguments that it cannot be sued by two fire fighters who were let go by the district in 2009. At the time they were the department's two oldest employees.
The district contends that the pair, John Guido and Dennis Rankin, were let go in a cost-cutting move because they had not volunteered for wildland firefighting.
But their attorney also said it does not matter, arguing that the federal Age Discrimination Employment Act covers employers with 20 or more workers. At the time the district had just 13.
That argument convinced a district court judge in Arizona who threw out the case. But that ruling was reversed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which concluded that, at least when it comes to public employers, the federal law has no minimum.
Today's order is at least an interim victory for the fire district, giving it a chance to convince the justices that it is, in fact, not subject to age-discrimination laws.
