News Notes: Roundup Of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Action

In a flurry of employment-related activity, the high court ruled that state employees can’t sue for age discrimination under federal law, although they can still file suit under state law. Plus, the court upheld the following important decisions: the landmark Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that said Microsoft improperly treated temporary employees as independent contractors and illegally denied them participation in its lucrative employee stock purchase plan; a federal Court of Appeal ruling that Mutual of Omaha did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by providing policyholders with different levels of coverage for AIDS-related illnesses than for other health conditions; and a federal Court of Appeal decision that let an independent contractor sue his client under federal law for creating a racially hostile work environment.