Coleman v. New Orleans & Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots' Ass'n

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:

In this age discrimination case, the question is whether the Mississippi River pilot associations are “employers” of the member pilots for the purposes of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq. The question is difficult and yields no straightforward answer. The defendant associations are long-standing, peculiarly conducted institutions recognized by statute, owned and governed by their member pilots, and serving as a sort of clearinghouse and dispatching service for the river pilots. There is no doubt that if the plaintiff…