Bipartisan Bill Would Lower Plaintiffs’ Burden In Age Discrimination Suits

A bipartisan group of United States Senators recently introduced the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act in an effort to restore the legal landscape in employment discrimination cases that existed prior to the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. Prior to the Gross ruling, Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") claims could proceed under the Title VII "mixed motives" standard, which required only that the plaintiff show that his or her age was a "motivating factor" in the employer's adverse employment action. The Supreme Court in Gross, however, rejected this standard and found instead that a plaintiff must show that his or her age was the "but for" or sole cause of the challenged employment action. This raised the plaintiff's burden in age discrimination cases substantially. Following Gross, some lower courts began requiring the "but for" standard under other discrimination statutes, including the