Congressman Thompson Votes to Restore Older Mississippi Workers’ Rights to Fight Back Against Age Discrimination

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson voted to restore older Mississippi workers' rights to fight back against age discrimination by passing H.R. 1230, Protect Older Workers Against Age Discrimination Act.

Americans are working and living longer than ever before, and workers aged 65 and older are the fastest growing age group in the labor force. However, for older job seekers and workers, age discrimination remains a barrier to both getting employed and staying employed. According to an AARP survey released in August 2018, 3 in 5 older workers report they have seen or experienced age discrimination on the job. An Associated Press-NORC survey conducted in February 2019 found that 91 percent of older adults 45-59 and 60+ thought that older workers sometimes or often face age discrimination in the workplace. Older workers who can prove they have been discriminated against should be treated no less favorably by the courts than other workers challenging workplace discrimination.

The Protect Older Workers Against Age Discrimination Act will:

Fix the problem created by the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. which overturned 20 years of precedent by imposing a higher burden of proof for age discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

Clarifies that the motivating factor test would be applied in three civil rights laws (the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) – all of which were subsequently impacted by the Gross decision.

Americans are working and living longer than ever before, and workers aged 65 and older are the fastest growing age group in the labor force. However, for older job seekers and workers, age discrimination remains a barrier to both getting employed and staying employed. According to an AARP survey released in August 2018, 3 in 5 older workers report they have seen or experienced age discrimination on the job. An Associated Press-NORC survey conducted in February 2019 found that 91 percent of older adults 45-59 and 60+ thought that older workers sometimes or often face age discrimination in the workplace. Older workers who can prove they have been discriminated against should be treated no less favorably by the courts than other workers challenging workplace discrimination.

The Protect Older Workers Against Age Discrimination Act will:

• Fix the problem created by the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. which overturned 20 years of precedent by imposing a higher burden of proof for age discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

• Clarifies that the motivating factor test would be applied in three civil rights laws (the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) – all of which were subsequently impacted by the Gross decision.

• Returns the burden of proof for workers alleging age discrimination back to the pre—2009 burden of proof applied in age discrimination cases -- returning the burden back to the same standard used for alleged discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, and religion.

Returns the burden of proof for workers alleging age discrimination back to the pre—2009 burden of proof applied in age discrimination cases -- returning the burden back to the same standard used for alleged discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, and religion.