WHEREAS, older workers are facing challenges finding new employment, and are more likely to be negatively impacted by discriminatory delays or forced into low wage labor or early retirement. While all communities are impacted, workplace age discrimination disproportionately affects older BIPOC, low-income, and women workers; and,
WHEREAS, despite the legislature’s commitment to prohibit workplace discrimination, more than a dozen years ago, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it more difficult to prove age discrimination than any other type of discrimination including race, sex, and religion. Courts across the country, including here in Oregon, have relied on this narrow interpretation, leaving many Oregon victims of age discrimination without any remedy for the harms and losses they suffer. This allows bad actors to get away with discriminating against older workers, effectively leaving them with no recourse; and,
WHEREAS, age discrimination at work is not uncommon, with over half (55%) of Oregon voters age 40+ in the labor force saying they have seen or experienced age discrimination at work. Among them, nearly nine in ten believe age discrimination at work a common occurrence, across all political ideologies ; and,
WHEREAS, seniors face economic hardship due to fixed incomes that have not kept pace with inflation, which has made medication, food, utilities, and other living expenses much more costly and forced many to return to the job market. These workers deserve a fair shot and just compensation; and,
WHEREAS, all workers should be considered for a job based on their qualifications, not negative stereotypes and outdated assumptions.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: The Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO) affirms commitment to support the rights of seniors against discrimination in the workplace.
Section 2: The DPO State Central Committee supports passage of HB 3187 (2025), which would remove age-related questions from the job application process, such as birth date or graduation date,bar age-biased language in job descriptions, such as college age or digital natives preferred; and update the definition of “age” to include proxies for age, such as retirement status, pension status, or length of service.
Resolution Submitted by Scott Mills, Delegate, Senior Caucus
Adopted 3/16/2025
