Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents

Facts of the Case

Kimel arose out of a dispute between the Florida Board of Regents and faculty members who sued for age discrimination in federal court. Although the governing board ordinarily would have been immune from liability as an arm of the state, Congress had enacted a provision in the ADEA purporting to abrogate sovereign immunity. The board contended that this purported abrogation was unconstitutional, but a federal trial court rejected its argument and ruled against the board. However, after the Eleventh Circuit reversed in favor of the board on the basis that the ADEA did not abrogate Eleventh Amendment immunity, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal.

The Supreme Court's Ruling

On further review, in a judgment written by Justice O'Connor wherein the justices reached divergent opinions, the Supreme Court affirmed both that Congress had expressed its intention to abrogate sovereign immunity for ADEA claims and that the attempted abrogation was unconstitutional. The first holding, that Congress expressed its intention to abrogate, received the support of all justices except Kennedy and Thomas. The second holding, that the attempt to abrogate was unconstitutional, was joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist as well as Justices Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas.

Insofar as Congress may only abrogate sovereign immunity when it expresses its intention in a clear and unambiguous manner, the first issue was whether Congress had done so in the ADEA. The Supreme Court observed that, unlike other statutes, the ADEA did not explicitly mention a desire to abrogate sovereign immunity. Nevertheless, seven justices agreed that the generalized language referring to suits and enforcement along with the inclusion of the states in certain definitions meant that Congress intended to abrogate the states' sovereign immunity.

...