In response to several federal court rulings holding that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) does not allow job applicants to file a disparate impact claim under that law, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill (H.R. 3992) that would allow job applicants to do just that. The vote on November 4 was 224 to 200, with seven Republicans joining all Democrats in supporting the bill.
H.R. 3992 is the latest in a line of workplace-related “wish list” bills approved by the House Democrat majority so far in the current Congress that for years have been priorities for organized labor and other worker advocates. Much of the same dynamic that has prevented most of these bills from becoming law, however – specifically, the leverage that U.S. Senate opponents have to block enactment short of bipartisan agreement – still applies in the closely divided Senate today.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.