Rep. Axne, Bipartisan House Vote to Reverse Supreme Court Age Bias Ruling Against Older Iowan
Press Release
Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) voted with a bipartisan House to restore protections against age discrimination by passing the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA).
The standard for rulings on age bias was changed in 2009 when the Supreme Court ruled against Jack Gross, a West Des Moines insurance company supervisor who was included in a mass demotion of older supervisors at the company following a corporate merger.
Prior to the ruling against Gross, plaintiffs in age discrimination cases needed to prove that age was a factor in an employer's adverse action. The ruling raised the burden of proof, requiring age to be the sole motivating factor in action taken against the employee. Legislation passed by the House today would return future cases to the pre-2009 standard.
"The Supreme Court set an impossibly high bar for older Iowa workers like Jack Gross to receive protections against bias in the workplace. This is especially concerning as many older Iowans are working later into their life," said Rep. Axne. "This legislation restores the protections that would have helped Jack Gross keep his position. I'm proud of my vote today to reverse that ruling because bias against older Americans in the workplace is unacceptable."
An AARP survey conducted in 2018 found that three in five workers age 45 and older had seen or experienced age discrimination. In 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received almost 20,000 complaints of age discrimination -- making up 22% of all discrimination charges filed with the EEOC that year.
In 2004, Gross was a 55-year-old insurance executive working in West Des Moines. After a corporate merger, Gross was demoted along with all Iowa supervisors at the company over the age of 50. Gross filed a suit that was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, where the Court ruled against Gross and established the current legal standard.
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