Oregon Voters Want Workplace Protections Against Age Discrimination

This survey of Oregon voters ages 40-plus in the labor force was commissioned by AARP Oregon to gauge support for amending the current workplace age discrimination law. An overwhelming majority (92%) of Oregonians 40-plus in the labor force feel older Americans should be protected from workplace age discrimination just as strongly as discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, and religion, according to a new survey from AARP.

Among those who have applied for a job in the past five years (55%), half (50%) of applicants say they were asked to provide age-related information during the application process, and three in 10 (29%) report seeing job postings containing age-biased language (i.e., recent college graduate, digital native preferred).

Well over half (55%) of all Oregon voters age 40-plus in the labor force say that they have seen or experienced age discrimination at work, and among them, most (88%) think that it’s a common occurrence.

Most Oregon voters (85%) support updating the state’s current age discrimination law and seven in 10 (71%) are likely to support a candidate who would do so.

Top Findings

• A majority (92%) of Oregon voters 40-plus in the labor force agree that older Americans should be protected against age discrimination in employment just as strongly as discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion.
• Over half (55%) of Oregon voters 40-plus in the labor force have seen or experienced age discrimination at work, and most of them (88%) think it’s common, including 86% Republicans, 88% Independents, and 89% Democrats.
• Over four in five (85%) Oregon voters 40-plus in the labor force support updating Oregon’s workplace age discrimination law.
• Seven in 10 (71%) Oregon voters 40-plus in the labor force would back a candidate who supports updating and strengthening Oregon's workplace age discrimination law.

Methodology

This survey was fielded from August 30 to September 14, 2023 among 1,067 Oregon registered voters ages 40-plus who are in the labor force. Interviews were conducted via landline and cell phone. All data are weighted by age, gender, and race/ethnicity according to the 2023 state voter database statistics for Oregon.

For more information, please contact Lona Choi-Allum at LAllum@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact SLarsen@aarp.org.