Senate Aging Committee Hearing Highlights Bipartisan Push to Let Older Workers Sue in Court, Not Be Forced into Arbitration

The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging convened a hearing on age discrimination and forced arbitration, where Republican Chairman Tim Scott and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand led a bipartisan discussion about the Protecting Older Americans Act, a bill intended to invalidate forced arbitration clauses for age-discrimination claims and give older workers the option to file in court.

The bill matters because witnesses said forced arbitration often prevents older employees from pursuing discrimination claims, hides repeat patterns of conduct and disadvantages individual claimants. "Victims of age discrimination often can't seek justice or accountability in court because of forced arbitration clause that they signed when they were hired," Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand said during opening remarks. She and other witnesses urged Congress to restore choice for workers who were bound by arbitration provisions they did not meaningfully consent to.

AARP executive vice president Nancy LeaMond told the committee that age discrimination is widespread and costly. "This is devastating for individuals and also can be overall for the workforce,"…