Union Underwear Company, Inc. v. Barnhart

Summary

The Supreme Court of Kentucky held that the Kentucky Civil Rights Act does not apply extraterritorially to an employee who lived and worked outside Kentucky, even though the employer was headquartered in Kentucky. The court distinguished subject-matter jurisdiction from the Act's territorial reach and reversed the judgment for the employee, remanding with directions to dismiss the complaint.

Holdings

1. The Warren Circuit Court had subject-matter jurisdiction over an employment-discrimination action brought under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act, even though the Act did not apply to the claim on the facts presented.
2. The Kentucky Civil Rights Act does not apply extraterritorially absent a positive showing that the General Assembly intended such application.
3. Applying the Kentucky Civil Rights Act to Barnhart's claim would be an impermissible extraterritorial application because he lived and worked outside Kentucky and the alleged discrimination occurred outside Kentucky.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Warren Circuit Court had subject-matter jurisdiction over Barnhart's Kentucky Civil Rights Act claim.
2. Whether the Kentucky Civil Rights Act applies extraterritorially to alleged age discrimination occurring against an employee who lived and worked outside Kentucky.
3. Whether the complaint stated a claim under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act when the alleged discriminatory conduct occurred outside Kentucky.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded