A federal appeals court said Friday it will rehear the case of an Illinois lawyer who claimed he didn't get a job because he had too many years of experience, a dispute that tests the power of job applicants, not just current employees, to sue employers for alleged age discrimination.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, sitting en banc, will take up Dale Kleber's case against CareFusion Corp. The longtime attorney sued the company after he wasn't hired for a senior counsel position that included a seven-year experience cap.

A three-judge panel, ruling for Kleber in April, said the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects both outside job applicants and current employees. CareFusion's lawyers at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart had asked the full appeals court to toss the panel decision and rehear the dispute. New Jersey-based Becton, Dickinson and Co. is the parent corporation of CareFusion.