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"Disparate Impact" Theory Available In Age Discrimination Cases

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 04.07.05

Resolving a split in the circuit courts, a divided Supreme Court in Smith v. City of Jackson, (Mar. 30, 2005) held that the "disparate impact" theory of liability, which does not require a showing of discriminatory intent, applies to claims asserted under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). However, the Court noted that "the scope of disparate-impact liability under ADEA is narrower" than under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, due to statutory language in ADEA that permits employers to take "otherwise prohibited" employment action where the "differentiation is based on reasonable factors other than age," such as seniority or rank.

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Client Alert | 7 min read | 08.19.26

CMS’s Final Rule Bans Federal Medicaid Funding for Youth Gender-Affirming Care

On August 13, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its final rule banning the use of federal funds — through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — to pay for gender-affirming care for children and youth. The final rule takes effect October 13, 2026 (“Prohibition on Federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures Furnished to Children”). While CMS finalized several key elements of its late-2025 proposed rule (Client Alert December 24, 2025), the proposed Medicare hospital Condition of Participation rule remains in proposed form....