[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1820 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1820
To amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and other
laws to clarify appropriate standards for Federal employment
discrimination and retaliation claims, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 20, 2025
Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and other
laws to clarify appropriate standards for Federal employment
discrimination and retaliation claims, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Older Workers Against
Discrimination Act''.
SEC. 2. STANDARDS OF PROOF.
(a) Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.--
(1) Clarifying prohibition against impermissible
consideration of age in employment practices.--Section 4 of the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623) is
amended by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
``(g)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, an unlawful
practice is established under this Act when the complaining party
demonstrates that age or an activity protected by subsection (d) was a
motivating factor for any practice, even though other factors also
motivated the practice.
``(2) In establishing an unlawful practice under this Act,
including under paragraph (1) or by any other method of proof, a
complaining party--
``(A) may rely on any type or form of admissible evidence
and need only produce evidence sufficient for a reasonable
trier of fact to find that an unlawful practice occurred under
this Act; and
``(B) shall not be required to demonstrate that age or an
activity protected by subsection (d) was the sole cause of a
practice.''.
(2) Remedies.--Section 7 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 626) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (b)--
(i) in the first sentence, by striking
``The'' and inserting ``(1) The'';
(ii) in the third sentence, by striking
``Amounts'' and inserting the following:
``(2) Amounts'';
(iii) in the fifth sentence, by striking
``Before'' and inserting the following:
``(4) Before''; and
(iv) by inserting before paragraph (4), as
designated by clause (iii) of this
subparagraph, the following:
``(3) On a claim in which an individual demonstrates that age was a
motivating factor for any employment practice under section 4(g)(1),
and a respondent demonstrates that the respondent would have taken the
same action in the absence of the impermissible motivating factor, the
court--
``(A) may grant declaratory relief, injunctive relief
(except as provided in subparagraph (B)), and attorney's fees
and costs demonstrated to be directly attributable only to the
pursuit of a claim under section 4(g)(1); and
``(B) shall not award damages or issue an order requiring
any admission, reinstatement, hiring, promotion, or payment.'';
and
(B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``Any'' and
inserting ``Subject to subsection (b)(3), any''.
(3) Definitions.--Section 11 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 630) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m) The term `demonstrates' means meets the burdens of production
and persuasion.''.
(4) Federal employees.--Section 15 of such Act (29 U.S.C.
633a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Sections 4(g) and 7(b)(3) shall apply to mixed motive claims
(involving practices described in section 4(g)(1)) under this
section.''.
(b) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.--
(1) Clarifying prohibition against impermissible
consideration of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
in employment practices.--Section 703 of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2) is amended by striking subsection
(m) and inserting the following:
``(m) Except as otherwise provided in this title, an unlawful
employment practice is established when the complaining party
demonstrates that race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or an
activity protected by section 704(a) was a motivating factor for any
employment practice, even though other factors also motivated the
practice.''.
(2) Federal employees.--Section 717 of such Act (42 U.S.C.
2000e-16) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Sections 703(m) and 706(g)(2)(B) shall apply to mixed motive
cases (involving practices described in section 703(m)) under this
section.''.
(c) Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.--
(1) Definitions.--Section 101 of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(11) Demonstrates.--The term `demonstrates' means meets
the burdens of production and persuasion.''.
(2) Clarifying prohibition against impermissible
consideration of disability in employment practices.--Section
102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12112) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(e) Proof.--
``(1) Establishment.--Except as otherwise provided in this
Act, a discriminatory practice is established under this Act
when the complaining party demonstrates that disability or an
activity protected by subsection (a) or (b) of section 503 was
a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though
other factors also motivated the practice.
``(2) Demonstration.--In establishing a discriminatory
practice under paragraph (1) or by any other method of proof, a
complaining party--
``(A) may rely on any type or form of admissible
evidence and need only produce evidence sufficient for
a reasonable trier of fact to find that a
discriminatory practice occurred under this Act; and
``(B) shall not be required to demonstrate that
disability or an activity protected by subsection (a)
or (b) of section 503 was the sole cause of an
employment practice.''.
(3) Certain anti-retaliation claims.--Section 503(c) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 12203(c)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``The remedies'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
remedies''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Certain anti-retaliation claims.--Section 107(c)
shall apply to claims under section 102(e)(1) with respect to
title I.''.
(4) Remedies.--Section 107 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12117) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Discriminatory Motivating Factor.--On a claim in which an
individual demonstrates that disability was a motivating factor for any
employment practice under section 102(e)(1), and a respondent
demonstrates that the respondent would have taken the same action in
the absence of the impermissible motivating factor, the court--
``(1) may grant declaratory relief, injunctive relief
(except as provided in paragraph (2)), and attorney's fees and
costs demonstrated to be directly attributable only to the
pursuit of a claim under section 102(e)(1); and
``(2) shall not award damages or issue an order requiring
any admission, reinstatement, hiring, promotion, or payment.''.
(d) Rehabilitation Act of 1973.--
(1) In general.--Sections 501(f), 503(d), and 504(d) of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791(f), 793(d), and
794(d)), are each amended by adding after ``title I of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et
seq.)'' the following: ``, including the standards of causation
or methods of proof applied under section 102(e) of that Act
(42 U.S.C. 12112(e)),''.
(2) Federal employees.--The amendment made by paragraph (1)
to section 501(f) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
791(f)) shall be construed to apply to all employees covered by
section 501 of that Act (29 U.S.C. 791).
SEC. 3. APPLICATION.
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall apply to all
claims pending on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the
application of such provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act,
the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions
of such to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
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