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State High Court Overturns Firefighter Age Limit

By Beacon Staff

BUTTE – The Montana Supreme Court has ruled a man’s constitutional rights were violated when a county refused to hire him as a firefighter because of his age.

The high court’s decision Tuesday is the culmination of Steven Jaksha’s lengthy discrimination battle against Butte-Silver Bow and overturns a 2008 district court ruling.

Jaksha filed a lawsuit in 2006 after the county refused to hire him as a firefighter because he was more than 34 years old. A jury sided with the county after a December trial that same year.

The 38-year-old challenged the jury’s ruling in September 2007, arguing the constitutionality of the age limit policy wasn’t never decided during the trial.

District Judge Kurt Krueger ruled the county’s age limitation for firefighters was not a violation of Jaksha’s constitutional rights.