Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2025

The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2025 would recast the standard for proving discrimination under key civil rights and disability laws. It adopts a “motivating factor” approach across the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act. In practice, this means a plaintiff can establish an unlawful practice if age, disability, or another protected activity was a motivating factor in the employer’s decision, even if other factors also influenced the decision. The bill also narrows the remedies available when such a factor is proven: the court could grant declaratory or injunctive relief and attorney’s fees directly attributable to pursuing the claim, but cannot award damages or order reinstatement, hiring, promotion, or payment as part of these claims. The bill applies to claims arising on or after enactment (with explicit extensions to federal employee claims under the relevant statutes) and provides a definitional framework for what it means to “demonstrate” discrimination (burdens of production and persuasion). It also harmonizes the standards across the ADEA, Title VII, ADA, and the Rehabilitation Act, and includes severability so that if any provision is unconstitutional, the rest remains in effect.