Kildee Supports Protections for Older Job Applicants

Statement

WASHINGTON--Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today supported the passage of bipartisan legislation, the Protect Older Job Applicants Act, to protect older job applicants from age discrimination in the hiring process.

According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 78% of older workers say they have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace. In the application and hiring process, many older job seekers have been asked to provide their birth date, graduation date or other age-related information.

"We must ensure all Michigan workers have an equal opportunity to return to work. That includes older workers who must be protected from discriminatory practices and loopholes that hurt their chances to get a job," said Congressman Kildee.

The Protect Older Job Applicants Act would clarify that older job applicants are protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits employment discrimination against anyone over the age of 40 years old. Two recent federal circuit court decisions (Villareal v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company and Kleber v. CareFusion Corp.) undermined these protections, ruling that ADEA's federal anti-age discrimination protections only apply to current employees, not job applicants. The Protect Older Job Applicants Act would reverse these narrow interpretations of ADEA to specifically include job applicants as protected under federal employment discrimination law.

The passage of the Protect Older Job Applicants Act is the latest action taken by Congressman Kildee to support workers and families in Congress. Kildee has recently helped the House pass:

H.R. 5, the Equality Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, education, federal funding, employment, housing and access to credit;
H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, to ensure that women and men are paid the same wages for doing the same work;
H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, to protect workers' right to organize, negotiate wages and fight for fair working conditions.

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