Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2062, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this measure.

I'm so pleased to see bipartisan support for this bill. Providing older workers with the legal tools they need to challenge unjust discrimination in the workplace should not be a partisan issue.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, our workforce is working longer than they have before. Those who are still working at or above the retirement age may be forced to do so because they have no other choice.

This vulnerable part of the American workforce deserves to have the same promotions and prospects as any other age group in a truly fair labor force. Unfortunately, age-based discrimination in the workplace can make it difficult for older individuals.

And since a 2009 Supreme Court ruling, employees who felt that they were wrongly discriminated against based on age have had to meet a much more burdensome standard to get relief in court under federal law.

That ruling went against decades of legal precedent and weakened protections for our working class, burdening victims and shielding those employers who in engage in discriminatory actions from accountability.

That is why it is so important that we pass H.R. 2062, and help older workers who have suffered discrimination.

Those facing discrimination should not have to jump through more hoops to ensure that their rights are protected. As noted by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, ``The ability to enjoy employment opportunities, free from unlawful discrimination, is key to promoting economic security for marginalized and multi-marginalized communities.''

I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this bill to protect our American workers and hold companies accountable for discriminatory practices.

I thank the Chairman for his leadership on this issue.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and the Democratic Task Force on Aging and Families, and as cosponsor, I rise in strong support of the bipartisan H.R. 2062, the ``Protecting Older Americans Against Discrimination Act of 2021,'' which restores the burden of proof standard for workers alleging age discrimination back to the pre-2009 standard--returning the burden back to the same standard used for alleged discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, and religion.

This important bill is supported by numerous key organizations, including AARP, Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, National Council on Aging, Justice in Aging, AAUW, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), National Disability Institute, Easter Seals, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women's Law Center, National Education Association, AFSCME, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Mr. Speaker, prior to 2009, older workers alleging age discrimination in the workplace faced the same burden of proof as those who allege discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, or religion.

This burden of proof is called the ``mixed-motive'' standard, where the complaining party need only prove that age (or whatever type of discrimination is being alleged) was one of the motivating factors behind the employer's adverse action.

This situation changed dramatically in 2009, when in a 5-4 decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services Inc., 557 U.S. 157 (2009), the Supreme Court erected a new and substantial legal barrier in the path of older workers--imposing a much higher burden of proof on workers alleging age discrimination.

This higher burden of proof requires the older worker alleging age discrimination to prove that age was the decisive and determinative cause for the employer's adverse action rather than just a motivating factor in the employer's action.

Mr. Speaker, this Supreme Court decision sent a terrible message to employers and the courts that some types of discrimination are not as wrong, or as unlawful, as other forms of discimination.

H.R. 2062, the Protecting Older Americans Against Discrimination Act of 2021, simply returns the burden of proof for workers alleging age discrimination back to where it was before the odious decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services.

In addition, since the Gross decision in 2009, some courts have extended the Gross's unreasonably difficult burden of proof to two other types of worker discrimination complaints: retaliation cases, in which an employer retaliates against a worker who challenges workplace discrimination; and disability discrimination cases.

As a result, in returning to the pre-Gross burden of proof standard, H.R. 2062 ensures that all victims of workplace discrimination face the same burden of proof--the ``mixed motive'' burden of proof that has historically been used in worker discrimination cases--by amending not only the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), but also the anti- discrimination provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.

Mr. Speaker, it should be noted that age discrimination continues to be a significant problem in the workplace.

Enforcement statistics from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) show complaints of age discrimination to be climbing.

In 2000, the EEOC received roughly 16,000 charges of age discrimination; in 2017, the EEOC received over 20,000 complaints-- accounting for 23 percent of all discrimination charges filed.

A 2013 AARP study found that more than 6 in 10 workers ages 45 to 74 said they have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace .

In this 2013 AARP study, nearly 20 percent of respondents said they were not hired for a job because of their age and nearly 10 percent said they were laid off or fired due to their age.

Age discrimination is a key reason it takes unemployed older workers nearly a full year, on average, to find another job.

And when they do land a new job, it is often for less money, which can have a crushing impact on older workers' long-term financial security and ability to live independently as they age.

Older workers are a valuable asset to their employers and the economy, yet more than half of older workers are forced out of a job before they intend to retire, and even if they find work again, 9 in 10 never match their prior earnings.

This is wrong; it is unfair and that is why I strongly support H.R. 2062, the Protecting Older Americans Against Discrimination Act of 2021, and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage by a resounding and overwhelming margin.

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