Audrey Clement v. The Washington Post

A. The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (“ADA”) provides federal court jurisdiction over allegations of age discrimination when the plaintiff has exhausted administrative remedies. Exhaustion occurs only when the initial complaint is filed timely with a federal agency of jurisdiction that does not rule in favor of the complainant or fails to rule at all. 42 U.S.C. §§ 6104(e)-(f). Since administrative exhaustion can only occur when a federal agency of jurisdiction exists, the question is whether in the absence of such an agency, the ADA is a dead letter. B. If federal courts have original jurisdiction over age discrimination complaints where no agency of jurisdiction exists, the question is whether such jurisdiction extends to entities that negotiate procurement contracts with the federal government, 42 U.S.C. § 6103(a)(4). C. If procurement contracts are covered by the ADA, the question is whether Respondent Washington Post, Inc.