There Is No Small Local Government Exception To Age Discrimination Laws

The U.S. Supreme Court in a unanimous decision based mostly on the plain language of the statute has held that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) applies to local governments even if the local government has fewer employees than the 20 below which private employers are exempt from the law. 

This corresponds to the long standing interpretation of the Act by the agency charged with enforcing it in the federal government, even though this treatment arguably arose from a drafting mistake by Congress that deviated from prior law. 

The same language is found in the FLSA which governs minimum wage and overtime laws and is interpreted consistently with this opinion.