# 119-hr-5115: Protecting Older Americans Act of 2025

119-hr-5115, Protecting Older Americans Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-30).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5115
- As of: 2026-10-30
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5115
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protecting Older Americans Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-03
- Sponsor: Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Law
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-30

## Summary

**Bars mandatory arbitration for age-discrimination claims.** This bill would make predispute arbitration agreements and predispute joint-action waivers not valid or enforceable for disputes alleging age discrimination against people who are 40 or older under Federal, Tribal, State, or local law. - People 40 and older who allege age discrimination could choose court proceedings instead of arbitration. This right can be exercised by the individual claimant or a named class representative in a class or collective action. - Employers could no longer rely on predispute arbitration clauses or predispute joint-action waivers to force those age-discrimination disputes into arbitration. This removes a common contractual barrier to court cases. - Federal courts, not arbitrators, would decide whether this new chapter applies and whether an arbitration agreement is valid or enforceable. Those determinations would follow federal law. - The rule would cover any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after the date of enactment across Federal, Tribal, State, and local law.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tran, Derek [D-CA-45] (D-CA), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19] (D-NY), 2026-06-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Julie [D-TX-32] (D-TX), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- People 40+ could skip forced arbitration: benefit, medium. If you are 40 or older, you could opt out of forced arbitration for age-bias disputes. You or a class representative could also void any waiver that blocks class or group cases. A court, not an arbitrator, would decide if an arbitration clause applies. The rule would cover discrimination, harassmen…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1004: Love Lives On Act of 2025
- 119-hr-18: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-5115 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5115)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2086)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-1004: Love Lives On Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1004)
- [119-hr-18: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-18)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5115 (as of 2026-10-30).