Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Today, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2062, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act.

Fifty-four years ago, Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. This law prohibits workplace discrimination against Americans over the age of 40, yet too many older Americans still face discrimination in the workplace.

In 2018, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission acknowledged that ``age discrimination remains a significant and costly problem for workers, their families, and our economy.'' This is corroborated by a 2019 AARP survey which found that roughly 60 percent of older workers have witnessed or experienced age discrimination.

Making matters worse, a misguided Supreme Court ruling in 2009 set a precedent which now requires a plaintiff in an age discrimination suit to prove that his or her age was the only motivating factor in an employer's adverse actions. This is, quite frankly, unacceptable.

Older Americans bring unrivaled experience and wisdom to their jobs. It is up to us to restore the workplace protections to what Congress intended.

I would also like to note that age discrimination affects many workers with disabilities. This is an added challenge for the disability community, which faces several other barriers to competitive, integrated employment.

Even more disheartening is that some courts have applied the same misguided 2009 Supreme Court standard of claims to disability-based employment discrimination. In doing so, these lower courts are undermining the key promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act and throwing the congressional intent to the wind.

H.R. 2062 will correct that record. In fact, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act will restore vital employment protections to millions of older American workers and workers with disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me today in supporting its final passage. It is the right thing to do.

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