A private transportation company fired three school bus drivers with excellent driving records because they had become 65 years of age, pursuant to a N.Y. Dept. of Education regulation prohibiting employment of school bus drivers at that age. The defendants, including the State Education Commissioner, asserted on the basis of a prior federal lawsuit that age was a bona fide occupational qualification and that the regulation was valid. After defense motions to dismiss the complaint and for summary judgment were denied and discovery undertaken, the Commissioner conceded that the expert report used in the prior lawsuit was statistically invalid and that the regulation violated federal law prohibiting discrimination in employment on the basis of age. Pursuant to the settlement, the plaintiffs won reinstatement and damages, and the Commissioner agreed that the regulation would no longer be enforced.
Barrett v. Suffolk Transp. Servs., 37 FEP Cases 724 (E.D.N.Y. 1984) and 600 F. Supp. 81 (E.D.N.Y. 1984)
