Dear Friend,

At Lift Our Voices, our mission is simple: to transform the American workplace, making it safer and more equitable for everyone. We are committed to working with stakeholders to establish new protections that protect survivors of workplace toxicity. This is why we are excited to share that this month, we worked with a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers and the AARP to introduce the Protecting Older Americans Act (S.1979), which bans forced arbitration in cases of age discrimination. 
 
The Protecting Older Americans Act, co-sponsored by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) in the Senate and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in the House, would allow survivors of age-based discrimination to take up their claims in open court and speak openly about their experiences. 
 
Just last year, Lift Our Voices worked to pass two landmark laws aimed at protecting the American workplace. The bipartisan Ending Forced Arbitration for Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act was signed by President Biden in March of 2022 and eliminated forced arbitration for survivors of sexual misconduct. Our second bill, the Speak Out Act, ended the use of NDAs for survivors and witnesses of sexual misconduct and was signed by the President last December. Both laws are the culmination of years of advocacy by Lift Our Voices. 

The Protecting Older Americans Act builds upon these two laws and is the next step in our mission to create safer workplaces for all workers. At a time of unprecedented partisan rancor, there is broad consensus that older workers must be protected from forced arbitration clauses. In a recent Morning Consult national poll, which Lift Our Voices commissioned, 71% of all adults oppose forced arbitration for age discrimination, including 85% of Democrats, 64% of Republicans and 61% of Independents. 

Here’s what the bill’s co-sponsor Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) had to say about the work of Lift Our Voices and our co-founders at Wednesday’s press conference.

• “They have been at the forefront of changing rights and privileges for people who have been denied them for too long and are on a long path to get this done for everyone.”

• Gretchen and Julie have “ made a huge difference through their voice and through their advocacy. I want to thank them for fighting for the rights of older Americans and their families.”

We could not do this work without you, and we are so grateful for your commitment to our cause. Along with all that we have accomplished together already, there is much more work to be done.

• Gretchen Carlson joined David Axelrod for a conversation on his podcast, The Axe Files, for a wide-ranging interview on her career, life, and mission at Lift Our Voices to protect survivors and give them back their voice. Listen here: The Axe Files with David Axelrod – Gretchen Carlson.

• On May 19th, Gretchen Carlson joined 19th News at the 19th Represents Summit panel to discuss speaking out against injustice in the workplace and our work to eradicate the legal mechanisms that silence survivors. Watch the entire conversation here.

• Julie Roginsky joined the New York Financial Writers’ Association to discuss our historic Speak Out Act and the impact of the #MeToo movement on the media and corporate America. You can learn more about the event here.

More legislation to prevent discrimination: Workers of color are disproportionately bound by forced arbitration provisions, which prevent them from openly airing claims of workplace toxicity. That is why we strongly support Senator Cory Booker’s bill, S. 1408 - Ending Forced Arbitration for Race Discrimination Act, which was introduced this month. This legislation goes a long way towards our mission of making workplaces safer for everyone. Read our op-ed on the bill in Senator Booker’s hometown newspaper The Star-Ledger and contact your own senators and Members of Congress to urge them to support S. 1408.

May is Older Americans Month: Too often, workers are silenced by NDAs and forced arbitration clauses that prevent them from coming forward about age discrimination, making it an overlooked and underreported issue in many workplaces.

• In 2020, 78% of older workers reported having seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace - up from 61% in 2018.

• Nearly 2-in-3 adults over 50 years old in the labor force think older workers face discrimination in the workplace based on age. And among them, nearly all believe that age discrimination against older workers is common in the workplace today. [AARP 2022 Survey]

• Roughly one-third of older adults in the labor force report that in the last two years, they heard negative comments in the workplace about an older co-worker's age. [AARP 2022 Survey]

Learn more about our work to free workplaces from this kind of toxic behavior here.

Mental Health Awareness: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in the workplace have a serious impact on the mental health of workers and their ability to perform their jobs. Silencing mechanisms, such as NDAs and forced arbitration clauses, often promote toxic environments that hurt the well-being of all workers. Lift Our Voices is currently raising the funding necessary to conduct groundbreaking research on the mental health impact of these silencing mechanisms.
 
Thank you for your continued support. To join our mission as we fight for safer workplaces across the United States, please click here:

Sincerely,

— Gretchen Carlson & Julie Roginsky | Co-founders, Lift Our Voices