Saturday, 22 January 2000
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/080-5069.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court said yesterday it will
decide by July whether state employees are protected by a federal
anti-discrimination law, the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Just 11 days ago, the justices barred all state employees across
the nation from suing in federal court over age bias. Now, Florida
officials are urging them to rule that Congress likewise exceeded
its power by giving all state employees the right to sue in federal
court over the ADA.
The court will hear arguments in the Florida case in April.
Its Jan. 11 decision whittled away more of the federal government's
power over states, perpetuating a series of decisions legal scholars
say comprise a states'-rights revolution.
That 5-4 ruling said Congress had exceeded its authority when
allowing state employees to sue their bosses under the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act because the law cannot trump states' 11th Amendment
immunity against being sued in federal courts.
On Monday, the justices ordered federal appeals courts in Illinois
and New York to restudy rulings that said states and their agencies
must abide by a 1963 federal law that requires employers to give
men and women equal pay for equal work.
In those orders, the court said the courts should reconsider their
decisions in light of the Jan. 11 decision barring age-bias lawsuits
in federal courts by state employees.
Florida prison guard Wellington Dickson sued in federal court
after failing to get a promotion, saying he was discriminated
against because of his age and his heart condition. His lawsuit
invoked the two laws aimed at discrimination based on age and
disabilities.
The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said his
claims under both laws could proceed to trial, but the Supreme
Court reversed that part of the decision dealing with the age-bias
law.
The court also said it will decide whether states can let voters
cross party lines in primary elections, even over the political
parties' objections.
The court will hear an appeal by four California political parties
- the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Libertarian Party and
Peace and Freedom Party - that say the state's ``blanket primary''
law violates their members' right to choose their own nominees.
The parties say the blanket primary law, overwhelmingly approved
by California voters in 1996, violates their constitutional right
of political association.
The justices will hear arguments in April, and a decision is expected
by July.
Three other states - Alaska, Louisiana and Washington - have similar
primary laws. A number of other states have more limited open-primary
laws, in which voters can request the ballot of any political
party in a primary election.
The law lets people vote in primary elections for any candidate
of any party.
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