Age Discrimination Claim (ADEA) Against NYS Dept. of Transportation Dismissed on Eleventh Amendment Grounds

In Rea v. New York State Dept. of Transportation, 2019 WL 1409977 (N.D.N.Y. March 28, 2019), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

In sum, the court held that the DOT may not be sued in federal court, in light of the Eleventh Amendment:

The DOT is an agency and an arm of New York State entitled to the protections of the Eleventh Amendment. … Sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment has not been abrogated for purposes of the ADEA. … And Eleventh Amendment immunity precludes a plaintiff from seeking any relief against states and state agencies[.]

The court thus dismissed plaintiff’s claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

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