Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents

Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents (2000) is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with congressional ability to abrogate the sovereign immunity of states from lawsuits charging violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), a federal statute that protects workers over the age of 40 from discrimination. The Eleventh Amendment gives states sovereign immunity from suits, but this immunity is not absolute. For instance, when exercising its power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment, Congress may abrogate the states' immunity. In Kimel, the Court held that [Page 285]Congress did not have the power to abolish state immunity to ADEA claims and thereby enable individuals to sue states and state agencies in federal court for age discrimination. Because most public institutions of higher education ...