State Sen. Derek Slap of West Hartford is urging residents to submit any testimony the have regarding age discrimination in the hiring process in support of a bill he is sponsoring.

Submitted

State Sen. Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) on Friday urged the public to come forward and lend their voices to the chorus that is supporting Senate Bill 85, a proposed bill that will help combat the problem of age discrimination in the hiring process.

S.B. 85 will receive its public hearing before the legislature’s Aging Committee at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, in Room 2-B of the Legislative Office Building on Capitol Avenue in Hartford. The public is encouraged to attend and speak.

S.B. 85 would prohibit employers from asking for a job candidate’s age, date of birth, or dates of attendance or date of graduation from an educational institution. An exception could only be made when there is a bonafide occupational need for a certain minimum age, such as a bartender or interstate truck driver.

“In less than a week, the public will have an opportunity to make their voices heard on an issue of vital importance to our state: the issue of age discrimination in the hiring process,” Slap said. “I’ve put together a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, business leaders and senior advocates who have come together with me to say that age discrimination is wrong and must end. Now it’s time for the public to make their voices heard. I encourage everyone to offer their own testimony, in person or in writing, voicing their support for this bill or perhaps telling their own personal story of being turned down for a job because someone thought they were too old. Age discrimination is already illegal in America, but we need to close these job application loopholes that could indirectly achieve the same end.”

Citizens who wish to come to the LOB to testify in person should sign-up to testify between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the first floor atrium of the LOB. You should also bring 30 copies of your own testimony, which will be distributed among committee members.

Those wishing to submit testimony online can email just a single copy of their written testimony to: [email protected]. All testimony becomes part of the public record.

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