Pension & Benefits Weblog notes that EEOC regulations were recently issued, reflecting the Supreme Court’s ruling in the General Dynamics case here (the case was discussed previously here.) Here is the EEOC’s explanation of the changes to the regulations:

Section 1625.2 is being revised as follows. The caption will be changed from “Discrimination between individuals protected by the Act” to “Discrimination prohibited by the Act” to reflect the Supreme Court’s holding that the ADEA permits employers to make age-based employment decisions that favor relatively older employees. The text of the regulation will be similarly revised, and Sec. 1625.2(b), which explicitly permits employers to give older employees preferential benefits in some circumstances, will be removed as redundant. Thus, the new regulation will not have paragraphs (a) and (b), and will simply be referred to as Sec. 1625.2. Other language changes in Sec. 1625.2 are made for the sake of clarity.

Section 1625.2 now reads:

Sec. 1625.2 Discrimination prohibited by the Act.

It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an individual in any aspect of employment because that individual is 40 years old or older, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies. Favoring an older individual over a younger individual because of age is not unlawful discrimination under the Act, even if the younger individual is at least 40 years old.