/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66109043/961134920.jpg.0.jpg)
The term “OK Boomer” has been entered into the official records of the US Supreme Court. Today, Chief Justice John Roberts used the phrase as a means to discuss age discrimination at a Supreme Court hearing and whether uttering it during a job interview could qualify as legal evidence.
The moment came during a case hearing for Babb v. Wilkie, in which plaintiff Norris Babb — who was in her early 50s at the time of the incident — alleged that she was denied a promotion from the Department of Veterans Affairs based on her age and gender. During questioning, Roberts posited that if a hiring person were to say, “OK Boomer ... is that actionable?” According to the court transcript, the hypothetical question was met with laughter.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19603713/ok_boomer_supreme_court_justice_roberts.png)
Ultimately, the court moved on after noting that it would likely be actionable if the term was used as a way to negatively judge a job candidate, especially if done so against a younger alternate. “If the decision makers are sitting around the table and they say, ‘we’ve got Candidate A who’s 35’ and ‘we’ve got Candidate B who’s 55 and is a boomer’ — and is probably tired and you know, doesn’t have a lot of computer skills, I think that absolutely would be actionable,” the court concluded.
Supreme Court justices aren’t expected to maintain a deep familiarity with memes, but the moment did mark the first time the phrase was uttered in a high court hearing. “OK, Boomer” has made its appearance in legal settings before, though: last November, a 25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker used the phrase as a retort against an older member of Parliament who heckled her during a speech for a climate crisis bill.
“Boomer” is a colloquial but not always derogatory term for Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964, a period dubbed “the baby boom” for its heightened birth rates. Chief Justice Roberts was born in 1955.
Loading comments...