Legislative Fix Critical for Restoring Protections for Older Workers Against Discrimination

“The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) commends Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Representatives George Miller (D-CA, 7th District), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY, 8th District), and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI, 14th District) for championing the rights of workers in America and introducing the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act today.

This bill is a crucial legislative fix to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Gross v. FBL Financial, which seriously undermined the employment protections that have served older workers and our country well for decades.

The Court’s ruling is fundamentally unfair because it makes it nearly impossible for older workers to prove they’ve been the victim of age discrimination. It also opens the door to eroding the rights of all workers, regardless of their age – a price that American workers cannot afford.

Congress should move swiftly to restore fairness in the workplace and pass the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act.”