Facebook Twitter Email
TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2002

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 that the American with Disabilities Act doesn't require special accommodations for senior workers.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote for the majority and said seniority plans can take precedence over the act's protections in the case of US Airways. He was joined by an odd split including Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy.

Conservative members Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented and criticized the majority for failing to resolve a lingering question. Liberal Justices David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg authored a separate dissent.

The decision falls short of defining a rule that seniority plans always take precedence. But it is another in a string of cases that limit the scope of the ADA.

The Court yesterday also threw out a provision of a drug law as unconstitutional. The 5-4 decision authored by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said a ban on advertising for mixed specialty drugs violates the First Amendment.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote a dissent joined by other liberal members plus Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

Get the Story:
Justices Further Limit Scope of Disability Act (The Washington Post 4/30)
Court Strikes Down Ban on Ads for Mixed Drugs (AP 4/30)
Seniority Upheld Against Disability Rights (The New York Times 4/30)
Citing Free Speech, Justices Lift a Ban on Advertising Mixed-to-Order Drugs (The New York Times 4/30)
Username: indianz.com, Password: indianz.com

Get the Decision US AIRWAYS, INC. v. BARNETT No. 00—1250:
Syllabus | Opinion | Concurrence [Stevens] | Concurrence [O'Connor] | Dissent [Scalia] | Dissent [Souter]

Get the Decision THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, et al. v. WESTERN STATES MEDICAL CENTER No. 01—344
Syllabus | Opinion | Concurrence [Thomas] | Dissent [Breyer]