Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his work on this bill.

Although House Democrats continue to work for an end to the pandemic, COVID-19 has changed the American workforce. People from all walks of life have suffered. Older Americans in the workforce continue to feel the fallout from the coronavirus.

The perception that older workers are not as valuable as their younger counterparts persists. The myth that older workers are unproductive and costly persists. The idea that older Americans do not value their careers, their job, or their work persists. Because of these challenges, older workers are more likely to remain out of the workforce when they lose a job.

Age discrimination is a real threat to our workforce, but it doesn't have to be that way. That is why the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act is so very important. Older workers need specific protections under the law.

As we look ahead to a stronger economy and upcoming legislation, I urge Members to remember the importance of older workers to our economy, to our workforce, and to our families.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the group Paralyzed Veterans of America. Paralyzed Veterans of America, Washington, DC, May 24, 2021. Hon. Robert Scott, Chairman, Education and Labor Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) is pleased to support reintroduction of the Protecting Older Workers against Discrimination Act (POWADA). PVA is the nation's only Congressionally-chartered veterans service organization solely dedicated to representing veterans with spinal cord injuries and/or disorders. POWADA is important to our members as people with disabilities because it will restore well-established legal standards on workplace discrimination that were undermined by a 2009 Supreme Court decision.

In 2009, in the case of Gross v. FBL Financial Services, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to impose a much higher burden of proof on workers who allege age discrimination than on those who allege discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, or religion. By changing the legal standards in age discrimination cases--from having to prove that age played a role in the worker's treatment to having to show that age played the decisive role in the worker's treatment--the Court set aside decades of legal precedent and signaled to employers that some amount of age discrimination is permissible. Moreover, the decision made it exponentially more difficult for workers who have experienced age discrimination to seek redress in court and prove their case.

Many courts began applying the Gross decision to weaken other civil rights laws, including disability discrimination cases. In 2019, in the case of Natofsky v. City of N.Y., the Second Circuit joined the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Circuits in ruling that disability discrimination under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 must be established under the higher, ``butfor'' standard. Federal courts have consistently, but in our view erroneously, applied Gross to claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ADA retaliation, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Some courts have questioned the applicability of Gross to disability claims without deciding the issue, but no court has declined to apply Gross to the ADA/Rehabilitation Act. Some courts have even begun to apply Gross to disability discrimination in public accommodations.

The unemployment rate for workers with disabilities is almost double the rate for workers without disabilities. For all the workers affected by the Gross decision, POWADA is a jobs bill.

By clarifying that discrimination may play no role in employment decisions under the ADA and certain other laws, this legislation would simply restore the law prior to the Gross decision.

PVA appreciates your continued pursuit of this important legislation and urges Congress to act swiftly on its passage. Sincerely, Heather Ansley, MSW, Esq., Associate Executive Director.

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