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Administrative Law Keyed to Koch
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sidley Austin Brown & Wood
Citation:
315 F.3d 696 (2002)Facts
In 1999, Sidley & Austin demoted 32 of its equity partners to “counsel” or “senior counsel” positions. The EEOC began investigating whether these demotions violated the ADEA, which protects employees but not employers from age discrimination. Sidley’s management structure featured a self-perpetuating executive committee with absolute power over the firm. The 32 demoted partners had capital accounts averaging $400,000, were liable for firm debts in proportion to their capital, received income based on percentage points assigned by the executive committee, and served on firm committees subject to executive committee control. The demoted partners had no vote in firm governance except for a single vote on the merger with Brown & Wood, which occurred after the EEOC investigation began. Sidley argued that the demoted partners were “real” partners and thus employers not protected by the ADEA.
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