September 19, 2025
Ms. Garcia of Texas (for herself, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Obernolte, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Carson, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Norton, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. García of Illinois, and Mrs. McBath) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to prohibit employers from limiting, segregating, or classifying applicants for employment.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Protect Older Job Applicants Act of 2025
or POJA Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Prohibition against limiting, segregating, or classifying applicants for employment
Section 4(a)(2) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623(a)(2)) is amended—
(1)
by inserting or applicants for employment
after employees
; and
(2)
by inserting or as an applicant for employment
after employee
.
Sec. 3. Study
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall conduct a study to determine the number of claims pending or filed with the Commission since 2015 under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.), including claims in closed cases, by job applicants who may have been adversely impacted by age discrimination in the job application process. The Chairman of the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and shall make available to the public, a report that contains the results of the study, including recommendations for best practices to prevent, combat, and address age discrimination in the hiring process.