To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration of disputes involving age discrimination.
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Lawler introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Protecting Older Americans Act of 2025 allows workers aged 40 and older who experience age discrimination to take their cases to court, even if they previously signed an arbitration agreement. Currently, many employment contracts require workers to resolve disputes through private arbitration rather than the court system. This bill gives older workers the choice to bypass those agreements when they face age-based discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Who Benefits and How
Workers aged 40 and older benefit significantly from this bill. They gain the option to pursue age discrimination claims in court where they may receive jury trials, public proceedings, and potentially higher damage awards compared to private arbitration. Civil rights advocates and employment attorneys also benefit, as more cases may proceed through the traditional legal system. Workers in class action lawsuits benefit as well, since the bill invalidates "joint-action waivers" that prevent employees from banding together to sue their employer.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Employers face increased legal exposure and costs. Companies that rely on mandatory arbitration clauses to resolve employment disputes will no longer be able to enforce those clauses in age discrimination cases. Large employers with significant older workforces may see more lawsuits and higher potential settlements or judgments. The arbitration industry also faces reduced demand, as age discrimination disputes can now bypass private arbitration at the employee's choice.
Key Provisions
- Allows any worker 40+ alleging age discrimination to choose court over arbitration, regardless of any agreement they signed before the dispute arose
- Invalidates "predispute joint-action waivers" that prevent workers from joining together in class action lawsuits for age discrimination
- Requires that courts (not arbitrators) decide whether the law applies to a particular case
- Applies to discrimination claims under federal, state, tribal, and local law
- Takes effect for any dispute arising after the bill becomes law
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to protect older Americans from age discrimination by ensuring the validity and enforceability of predispute arbitration agreements in cases involving age-related disputes.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The legal status of predispute arbitration agreements or waivers, which can be challenged by the person alleging age discrimination.
A dispute relating to conduct that is alleged to constitute age discrimination against a person aged 40 or older, including disparate treatment, impact, harassment, and retaliation as prohibited by federal, tribal, or state law.
Agreements or waivers that are made before a dispute arises, as defined in section 401.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology