U.S. House approves new age discrimination protections

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to enact new protections against age discrimination in the workplace, approving a bill that supporters say will give older workers the same safeguards other protected groups enjoy.

"I've heard from workers, many in the technology industry, who believe they have been dismissed or denied employment because of their age," Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton, said on the House floor Wednesday.

"This bipartisan bill simply returns the burden of proof to what it was for decades" before the Supreme Court's 2009 ruling, Bonamici said.