Posted on January 16, 2020
Newtown – State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky (R-Newtown) participated in a pre-session press conference held at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, January 16, to address age discrimination and its impact on mature workers in the hiring process. Bolinsky was joined by several Republican and Democrat lawmakers, as well as membership from AARP and business leaders represented by the Connecticut Business Industry Association (CBIA), to announce a new bill eliminating the obligation of job applicants to disclose their date of birth or graduation dates as a condition to earning an interview.
According to Rep. Bolinsky, legislation aimed at removing the mandatory disclosure of age before the interview process came close to approval in the 2019 session but failed to be acted upon before the legislature adjourned last June. However, this year, with the early announcement of this new legislation and clear collaboration by key stakeholders, there is a great likelihood of passage this year.
“Age discrimination is real, and this legislation accomplishes many good things. I’ve been advocating this for years,” said Rep. Bolinsky. “First, it gets older workers in the door, considered, and interviewed on the strength of their work, not the date on their resume; Second, it’s important to know that it doesn’t mandate employers to do anything they don’t already do when considering their best-fit, new employees. In fact, it may help them meet some of the hardest-working, dedicated employees out there and; Third, there’s a lot of current conversation about enriching Connecticut’s talent pool. Fact is, there is a wealth of talent in our state’s older workers, and this simple bill will showcase that.”
The Aging Committee, of which Bolinsky is former Ranking Member, is expected to consider this topic as one of its priority concepts. It should also be noted that a similar bill was recently approved at the federal level, even though the state law would give local employers greater clarity and applicants more confidence in joining Connecticut’s workforce.
If you wish to learn more about Rep. Bolinsky, you can visit his website at RepBolinsky.com.
###