The U.S. Supreme Court recently held, in a 6-3 decision, that the federal provision of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits retaliation, even though the language of the statute does not specifically address retaliation. See Gomez-Perez v. Potter (U.S. May 28, 2008). The federal-sector provision of the ADEA provides that

?[a]ll personnel actions affecting employees or applicants for employment who are at least 40 years of age . . . shall be made free from any discrimination based on age.?

The key question for the Court in this case was whether the statutory phrase ?discrimination based on age? includes retaliation based on the filing of an age discrimination complaint. The Court held that it does.

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