Almost a year has gone by since the EEOC originally announced its approval of a proposal to exempt retiree health plans from the ADEA. Since that time, AARP filed suit seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the agency from issuing the exemption. The plaintiffs in AARP v. EEOC, No. 2:05-cv-00509, argued that the EEOC had exceeded its statutory authority to implement the exemption. The EEOC had agreed to a 60-day hold on issuing the final rule due to the litigation. The federal district court has now issued a ruling in the case which you can access from the American Benefits Council website via Benefitslink.com. The ruling states in part as follows:
Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that the EEOC’s proposed exemption is contrary to law or that the exemption is arbitrary and capricious. Accordingly, their motion for summary judgment should be denied, and for the reasons explained herein and in Defendant’s previous filings, judgment should be entered in favor of the EEOC. . .Given that Congress has expressly authorized the EEOC to issue exemptions to permit activity that otherwise would be prohibited by the ADEA, the relevant inquiry for the Court is whether the proposed exemption is “reasonable” and “necessary and proper in the public interest.” 29 U.S.C. § 628. As is evident from the Administrative Record before the Court, the EEOC’s decision to establish an exemption for the practice of coordinating retiree health benefits with Medicare eligibility was reasonable and in the public interest, and therefore satisfied the requirements of Section 9. See Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction at 27-40 (“The EEOC’s Decision to Exempt from the ADEA the Practice of Coordinating Employer-Sponsored Retiree Health Benefits with Medicare Eligibility is Not Arbitrary and Capricious”). Plaintiffs’ claims to the contrary represent nothing other than their disagreement with the considered judgment of the EEOC.
For more background on the case: