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ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT Steve Carter Attorney General of Indiana Frances Barrow Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR APPELEES Melinda O'Dell Mooresville, Indiana

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In the

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 49S02-0501-CV-22 IND. DEP'T. OF ENVTL. MGMT., Appellant (Petitioner below), v. LYNN C. WEST, ET AL., Appellees (Respondents below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Marion Superior Court No. 13, No. 49D13-0106-CP-914 The Honorable S.K. Reid, Judge _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A02-0309-CV-752 _________________________________ December 6, 2005 Sullivan, Justice. The State Employees' Appeals Commission ("SEAC") ordered the Indiana Department of Environmental Management ("IDEM") to create new positions for three employees who contend they suffered age discrimination in the course of a reorganization of IDEM. Based on our review of the record, we hold that the employees did not make out a prima facie case of age discrimination because they did not show that they had been replaced by significantly younger persons. We also hold that SEAC has no authority to order the Department to create new positions as a remedy.

Background

In 1998, Lynn C. West, Michael J. Dalton, and Phillip E. Wuensch ("Employees") were all employees of IDEM when IDEM announced that it would be consolidating its Office of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management and Office of Environmental Response into a single department called the Office of Land Quality. As part of its restructuring, IDEM reclassified the positions of many of its workers, including those of Employees.

As a result of the restructuring, Employees, at the time all above the age of 40, received new job assignments that did not decrease their pay but did reduce their managerial responsibilities. Specifically:

Download IDEM v. Lynn West, et al.pdf

Indiana Law