美國最高法院與就業上年齡歧視之禁止

本文之目的，是要對美國自一九六七年起所建構禁止就業上年齡歧視之法制，做一簡要之說明，並對該國聯邦最高法院過去四十多年所做之三十則相關判決，以三個階段為期做一全面之檢視，藉以評析其已解決之爭議，並找出未來仍可努力之空間，以供我國未來在處理相關問題時參考攻錯之用。全文主要內容共分五大部分：第一部分說明一九六七年就業年齡歧視法之制定背景、立法經過、重要條款與嗣後之修正及執行機構等。第二部分探討自聯邦最高法院在一九七六年做出第一則判決後，至一九八五年為止，在十一則判決中所處理之相關爭議。第三部分檢視一九八九年至一九九八年這段期間之另十一則判決。第四部分則是延續前二部分之作法，討論該院自二○○○年至二○○八年所做成之八則判決。第五部分試圖對該院在這些判決中所能發揮之作用，做一綜合性之評析，並提出美國在這方面之經驗可供我國攻錯援引之處。

關鍵字

就業上年齡歧視；一九六七年就業年齡歧視法；一九六四年民權法第七章；平等就業機會委員會；美國最高法院

並列摘要

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief account of the legal regime governing the prohibition of age discrimination in employment in the Untied States. It examines in three stages in the development of that legal regime, taking account of thirty related decisions rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past forty years, assessing the controversies resolved and issues as yet unresolved. The paper is divided into five sections. Section One discusses the background information, legislative history, important provisions, subsequent amendments, and the enforcement mechanism of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967. Section Two examines twelve cases ruled on by the Supreme Court from 1976 to 1985 to discuss the controversies it settled. Section Three evaluates twelve cases from 1989 to 1998. Section Four looks into eight cases rendered by the Court from 2000 to 2008. Section Five makes a general assessment of the impact of these decisions on the development of the American legal regime. Finally, the paper evaluates whether the American experience in this field can provide any guidance for Taiwan given its recent efforts to establish a similar legal system to combat age discrimination in employment.