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    <RIN_INFO>
        <RIN>3046-AA76</RIN>
        <PUBLICATION>
            <PUBLICATION_ID>201010</PUBLICATION_ID>
            <PUBLICATION_TITLE>The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions</PUBLICATION_TITLE>
        </PUBLICATION>
        <AGENCY>
            <CODE>3046</CODE>
            <NAME>Equal Employment Opportunity Commission</NAME>
            <ACRONYM>EEOC</ACRONYM>
        </AGENCY>
        <RULE_TITLE>Disparate Impact Burden of Proof Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act</RULE_TITLE>
        <ABSTRACT><![CDATA[Prior to the Supreme Court's decision in Smith v. City of Jackson, Commission regulations interpreted the ADEA to require employers to prove that actions that had an age-based disparate impact were justified as a business necessity.  Although the Court, in Smith, agreed with the EEOC that disparate impact claims were cognizable under the ADEA, it held that the defense was not business necessity but reasonable factors other than age (RFOA).  The Smith Court did not specify whether the employer or employee bore the burden of proof on the RFOA defense.  

Accordingly, on March 31, 2008, the Commission issued an NPRM to conform Commission ADEA regulations to Smith, also taking the position that the employer bore the burden of proving the defense.  Subsequently, the Supreme Court held in Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Laboratory, that employers bore the burden of proof.  Thus, the EEOC's proposed regulation conforms to both Smith and Meacham.

In the March 2008 NPRM, the Commission also asked whether its ADEA regulation should provide more information on the meaning of RFOA and, if so, what the regulations should say.  After consideration of the public comments, and in light of the Supreme Court decisions in Smith and Meacham, the Commission issued a separate NPRM to address the scope of the RFOA defense.  This NPRM is titled "Reasonable Factors Other Than Age Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act."  A Final Rule will cover the issues addressed in both NPRMs.]]></ABSTRACT>
        <PRIORITY_CATEGORY>Substantive, Nonsignificant</PRIORITY_CATEGORY>
        <RIN_STATUS>Previously Published in The Unified Agenda</RIN_STATUS>
        <RULE_STAGE>Final Rule Stage</RULE_STAGE>
        <MAJOR>No</MAJOR>
        <UNFUNDED_MANDATE_LIST>
            <UNFUNDED_MANDATE>No</UNFUNDED_MANDATE>
        </UNFUNDED_MANDATE_LIST>
        <CFR_LIST>
            <CFR>29  CFR 1625.7(d)</CFR>
        </CFR_LIST>
        <LEGAL_AUTHORITY_LIST>
            <LEGAL_AUTHORITY>29 USC 628</LEGAL_AUTHORITY>
        </LEGAL_AUTHORITY_LIST>
        <LEGAL_DLINE_LIST/>
        <RPLAN_ENTRY>No</RPLAN_ENTRY>
        <TIMETABLE_LIST>
            <TIMETABLE>
                <TTBL_ACTION>NPRM</TTBL_ACTION>
                <TTBL_DATE>03/31/2008</TTBL_DATE>
                <FR_CITATION>73 FR 16807</FR_CITATION>
            </TIMETABLE>
            <TIMETABLE>
                <TTBL_ACTION>NPRM Comment Period End</TTBL_ACTION>
                <TTBL_DATE>05/30/2008</TTBL_DATE>
            </TIMETABLE>
            <TIMETABLE>
                <TTBL_ACTION>Final Action</TTBL_ACTION>
                <TTBL_DATE>07/00/2011</TTBL_DATE>
            </TIMETABLE>
        </TIMETABLE_LIST>
        <RFA_REQUIRED>No</RFA_REQUIRED>
        <SMALL_ENTITY_LIST>
            <SMALL_ENTITY>Businesses</SMALL_ENTITY>
            <SMALL_ENTITY>Governmental Jurisdictions</SMALL_ENTITY>
            <SMALL_ENTITY>Organizations</SMALL_ENTITY>
        </SMALL_ENTITY_LIST>
        <GOVT_LEVEL_LIST>
            <GOVT_LEVEL>Federal</GOVT_LEVEL>
            <GOVT_LEVEL>Local</GOVT_LEVEL>
            <GOVT_LEVEL>State</GOVT_LEVEL>
            <GOVT_LEVEL>Tribal</GOVT_LEVEL>
        </GOVT_LEVEL_LIST>
        <FEDERALISM>No</FEDERALISM>
        <ENERGY_AFFECTED>No</ENERGY_AFFECTED>
        <PRINT_PAPER>No</PRINT_PAPER>
        <INTERNATIONAL_INTEREST>No</INTERNATIONAL_INTEREST>
        <RELATED_RIN_LIST>
            <RELATED_RIN>
                <RIN>3046-AA87</RIN>
                <RIN_RELATION>Related to</RIN_RELATION>
            </RELATED_RIN>
        </RELATED_RIN_LIST>
        <AGENCY_CONTACT_LIST>
            <CONTACT>
                <FIRST_NAME>Dianna</FIRST_NAME>
                <LAST_NAME>Johnston</LAST_NAME>
                <MIDDLE_NAME>B.</MIDDLE_NAME>
                <TITLE>Senior Attorney Advisor, Office of Legal Counsel</TITLE>
                <AGENCY>
                    <CODE>3046</CODE>
                </AGENCY>
                <PHONE>202 663-4657</PHONE>
                <FAX>202 663-4679</FAX>
                <EMAIL>dianna.johnston@eeoc.gov</EMAIL>
                <MAILING_ADDRESS>
                    <STREET_ADDRESS>131 M Street NE.,</STREET_ADDRESS>
                    <CITY>Washington</CITY>
                    <STATE>DC</STATE>
                    <ZIP>20507</ZIP>
                </MAILING_ADDRESS>
            </CONTACT>
        </AGENCY_CONTACT_LIST>
    </RIN_INFO>
</REGINFO_RIN_DATA>
