Forman v. Small, 87 FEP Cases 526 (D.C. Cir. 2001). The age discrimination statute applicable to federal employees prohibits age discrimination but says nothing about reprisal for making age discrimination complaints. The government has often argued that this means there is no such thing as a reprisal case grounded on the prior filing of an age discrimination complaint. The D.C. Circuit in Forman disagreed. The Court said nothing in the law suggests that Congress intended the federal workplace to be less free of age discrimination than the private workplace. It is difficult to imagine how a workplace could be free from discrimination based on age, said the Court, if a federal employer could discharge or take other adverse action against employees for complaining about age discrimination