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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) voted in favor of strengthening protections for older workers who face age discrimination in the workplace.

A 2009 Supreme Court decision overturned decades of legal precedent by making it harder for older workers to hold employers accountable for workplace discrimination. Under current law, workers alleging discrimination based on race, sex, nationality, and religion only have to prove that discrimination was one factor in an adverse employment action (i.e. firing, demotion, etc.). However, workers alleging age discrimination must prove that discrimination was the decisive, determinative factor.

“Too often older workers are faced with age discrimination on the job, with many being forced out of a job, and those who do return to the workforce are met with lower earnings and lower wages,” said Dingell. “Age discrimination can have a crushing impact on older worker’s short and long-term financial security and threaten their independence as they age.  This bill, which I am proud to cosponsor, would level the playing field for our older workforce and restores their rights in fighting back against age discrimination.”

Wednesday, the House passed the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act which Dingell is a cosponsor of. This bipartisan bill will ensure the same legal protections against age discrimination as those that exist for discrimination based on race, sex, nationality, and religion.

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