Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, when considering any legislation, Congress first should determine whether the legislation is needed and, next, whether the bill under consideration will provide a workable, feasible, and effective response to the issue at hand.

Proponents of H.R. 2062 claim that the Supreme Court's decision in Gross, 2009, and Nassar, 2013, have harmed workers who faced age discrimination or unlawful retaliation. Publicly available data does not show that the Supreme Court decisions in Gross or Nassar have discouraged individuals from filing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges of discrimination, which is a signed statement asserting employment discrimination.

Unfortunately, the one subcommittee-level hearing earlier this year in the Committee on Education and Labor on H.R. 2062 also covered several other unrelated bills.

At the very least, this far-reaching legislation deserves more than a cursory examination.

Furthermore, a Democrat-invited witness who testified at the hearing in favor of H.R. 2062 acknowledged that ``it is difficult to quantify the impact that the Gross decision has had on the number of older workers who bring cases and the number of those who win them.''

The reality is that a review of EEOC data shows that the rate of EEOC age discrimination charges as a percentage of all charges filed is approximately the same for the 11 years before and after the Gross decision.

In fact, there has been an uptick in title VII retaliation charges as a percentage of all charges filed in the 7 years following the Nassar decision, which does not indicate individuals have been discouraged from filing these charges.

Court decisions show that plaintiffs have continued to win age discrimination and title VII retaliation cases in the wake of the Supreme Court's decisions in Gross and Nassar.

Like other Democrat-sponsored legislation in the 117th Congress, H.R. 2062 has been rushed through the committee without necessary examination, discussion, or consideration.

We should go back to the drawing board on this bill, because H.R. 2062 begs for reliable data and evidence, thoughtful deliberation, and genuine consideration.

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Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, when considering any legislation, the House should first determine whether legislation is needed and, next, whether the bill under consideration will adequately address or improve the situation.

Before H.R. 2062 was brought to the House floor, the Committee on Education and Labor did not have a standalone hearing on the bill and instead held a subcommittee-level hearing on multiple, wide-ranging topics.

This complex and sweeping legislation deserves further examination by the committee so Members can gather more information from a variety of experts to make an informed decision regarding its practicality.

Supporters of H.R. 2062 claim the Supreme Court's 2009 decision in the Gross case and 2013 decision in the Nassar case have harmed workers who faced age discrimination or unlawful retaliation for claiming discrimination. Publicly available data does not show that the Supreme Court decisions in the Gross or Nassar cases have discouraged individuals from filing EEOC charges.

A Democrat-invited witness who testified acknowledged that ``it is difficult to quantify the impact that the Gross decision has had on the number of older workers who bring cases and the number of those who win them.''

This witness also acknowledged that ``when we might have expected a drop in charges due to Gross-inspired discouragement from employment attorneys, there was a sizeable jump in the number of ADEA charges filed with the EEOC.''

In addition, a review of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, data shows that, as a percentage of all charges filed, the rate of EEOC age discrimination charges is approximately the same as 11 years before the Gross decision, with a slightly higher percentage of age discrimination charges filed after the Gross decision.

As a percentage of all charges filed in the 7 years following the Nassar decision, there has also been an increase in title VII retaliation charges, which shows that individuals have not been discouraged from filing these charges.

Further, a review of court decisions shows that plaintiffs have continued to win age discrimination and title VII retaliation cases in the wake of the Supreme Court's decisions of Gross and Nassar.

Bottom line, we must ensure that before we continue to legislate on an issue that may not need additional Washington interference, we have accurate data.

My amendment simply states that before H.R. 2062 goes into effect, the Government Accountability Office must conduct a study and report to Congress on whether individuals have been discouraged from filing age discrimination or title VII retaliation charges and from filing lawsuits following the decisions in Gross and Nassar and whether there have been fewer plaintiffs winning age discrimination and title VII retaliation lawsuits.

If the GAO finds that individuals have not been discouraged from filing charges and lawsuits, and have, in fact, won more lawsuits than prior to the Supreme Court decisions, then the bill would not go into effect.

Let's not put the cart before the horse. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of my amendment to ensure this legislation is actually needed and adequately addresses the purported concerns of the bill's sponsors.

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Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, again, I simply state this: My amendment says that the Government Accountability Office must conduct a study and report to Congress on whether individuals have been discouraged from filing age discrimination or title VII retaliation charges and from filing lawsuits following the decisions in Gross and Nassar, and whether there have been fewer plaintiffs winning age discrimination and title VII retaliation lawsuits.

We must have the data before we move in this body. We do not have sufficient information at this point. Again, no one wants discrimination in the workplace, but we have a justice system that provides for relief for people who bring these cases. And I have just cited the cases presented here today.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a vote for this amendment so that we can get the proper data.

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