The NY Times reports that Congress is considering legislation to reverse a Supreme Court decision that made it harder for employees to win age discrimination claims.

The Court’s decision in June changed the burden of proof for plaintiffs.  Previously, if an employee could prove that age was a factor in an adverse employment decision, the burden shifted to the employer to show that it had acted for a valid reason other than age.    As a result of the Court’s decision in Gross v. F.B.L. Financial Services, however, the burden of proof does not shift to the employer but remains on the plaintiff throughout the case.  Congress is concerned that the Court’s decision ignores Congress’ intent, and that the standard for proving age discrimination is now higher than that required to prove other types of discrimination.

The article also reports that the number of age discrimination cases filed last year was 29 percent higher than in 2007.