SCOPE OF STUDY House Resolution No. 104, adopted on January 30, 1965, by the Assembly of the California State Legislature, directed the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Aging to study age requirements in government employment. In compliance with the Legislature's directions, the following projects were undertaken with the assistance of several cooperating agencies: 1. Queries were directed to the 58 counties, 111 cities, and 42 miscellaneous public agencies, concerning (a) titles of jobs under their jurisdiction for which age ranges are specified; (b) approximate number of positions in each of these classifications; (c) job specifications or examination announcements for each job having age restrictions; (d) reasons for the age requirements. A total of 211 inquiries was sent to the sample group. Additional information was received from other sources. Cities in the sample were selected from those with populations of 20,000 or more, representing the various economic and geographic areas of the state. The "miscellaneous" group comprised selected fire districts; several housing and redevelopment authorities in large population centers; and two large municipal utility districts with their own hiring arrangements. 2. The State Department of Employment secured information on governmental hiring requirements and practices from its Older Worker Specialists in some 100 local employment offices throughout the state. 3. The Office of the Legislative Council provided information on age limitations in government codes and city and county charters. 4. The State Personnel Board and the U. S. Civil Service Commission gave information on state and federal hiring policies with regard to age. 5. Information was obtained from the California State Employees Retirement System and other sources on major retirement plans and their relationship to age requirements for public employ ment. 6. Classified newspaper advertisements from more than 100 newspapers throughout the state were sampled for instances of age limits mentioned in recruitment for public agencies. This report presents the project findings and recommendations based on them. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND A. Findings RECOMMENDATIONS 1. From the sample group of 211, there were 163 responses (about three-fourths of the group). Out of the responses, 86 cities, 29 counties, and three in the "miscellaneous" group, reported some jobs with entry age limits below the compulsory retirement age. Most jobs were in law enforcement or firefighting, but some jurisdictions listed jobs in clerical, professional, technical, skilled, and laboring classifications. 2. Although the California Government Code prohibits age discrimi nation by the state, cities, and counties, exceptions are permitted for peace officers and in public health, safety, and firefighting positions. (References and more detailed discussion appear in Part III of this report.) The Business and Professions Code contains no references to maximum age qualifications. 3. Although the State Personnel Board has established age limits for only six jobs, all in the general category of law enforcement or safety, it has no control over age limitations which may be established by the cities and counties who contract with the Board for testing or other personnel services. 4. Reasons most commonly given for age limits were the physical demands of the jobs, and the provisions of the applicable retirement system. Retirement ages varied from 55 to 70, depending on the plan covering the job. Under the 1937 County Retirement Act, entrants to the "safety" plan covering peace officers and firefighting jobs must be under age 35. 5. The Federal Government has no upper age limits on employment other than the compulsory retirement age of 70. Even so, individuals may under some circumstances work past that age. Some Federal agencies, however, recruit outside the regular civil service system and have upper age limits for some jobs. 6. Upper age limits for similar jobs varied, especially in law enforcement. 7. Workmen's compensation provisions in the Labor Code, Section 3212-3212.7, stipulate that hernia, heart trouble, pneumonia, and tuberculosis are presumed to be job-connected (with some reservations) for policemen and firemen in public employment, and for some custodial or "safety" positions with the state. Some hiring officials feel that such conditions are more apt to occur among older workers. 8. Doubts about the physical and mental capacities of "older" persons were expressed by some hiring authorities. 9. There was some apparent misunderstanding of the Peace Officer Standards Program sponsored by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training of the Department of Justice. Although the Commission suggests a minimum age of 21 for recruitment, it mentions no upper age limits. A few agencies, however, said their age limits on police jobs were set because of the Commission's rules. 10. Rigid physical examinations and requirements for recent education or experience may impose handicaps on older persons. Standards in excess of actual job performance requirements may be a kind of "hidden discrimination. 11. Some provisions exist for reciprocity in retirement coverage between the state and about 400 agencies contracting with the State Employees Retirement System for coverage. Twenty counties having pension plans under the 1937 County Retirement Act also have reciprocal arrangements with the state which permit employees, under some circumstances, to transfer their retirement credits when they move from county to state employment, or vice versa. B. Recommendations In view of the widespread prevalence of age limitations, whether expressed or implied, on employment in public agencies throughout the state, the Legislature is urged to give its guidance and support in efforts to eliminate practices which limit the opportunities of mature workers for entry or advancement in public employment. Toward this end, it is recommended: 1. That measures be taken to eliminate any age limitations in California state, county, and city employment which violate provisions of the Government Code prohibiting such limitations. 2. That present provisions of the Government Code exempting law enforcement positions from general prohibition against age discrimination in government employment be reexamined to determine whether such exemptions are realistic or necessary, in view of the following considerations: (a) public agencies are experiencing difficulty in recruiting law enforcement officers; (b) the federal government has not found it necessary to establish entry age limits for employees in law enforcement or "safety" positions; (c) there is no evidence that chronological age is an accurate measure of an individual's physical or mental capacities. 3. That all cities and counties be apprised of recruitment standards promulgated by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training of the Department of Justice. These standards have sometimes been misinterpreted as proposing age ranges for peace officer jobs, when in fact the recommendation is for a minimum age of 21 years, without maximum age limits. 4. That the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training should be given all possible support in its program of assisting counties and cities to establish standards for physical and mental examinations related to the performance requirements of specific law enforcement positions. 5. That civil service examinations for public agencies should provide alternate patterns of qualifications which take into account breadth and length of experience, educational achievement, and the actual physical and mental performance requirements of the job. It is further recommended that arbitrary requirements on recency of education, such as "college graduation within the past five years," be eliminated from the hiring requirements of public agencies, and that instead appropriate examinations or qualifications appraisals be utilized to determine whether an applicant meets job standards for currency of professional or occupational preparation. 6. That the State Personnel Board, in its services to contracting public agencies, should stress the establishment of job specifications in which the individual's capacities and qualifications are measured against job duties. 7. That the State Personnel Board should include special instructions on the state's policy concerning age discrimination in its training and indoctrination of members of Qualifications Appraisal Panels, and provide age balance on such panels so that the mature worker's viewpoint will be represented. 8. That the State Personnel Board should give leadership to its contracting clients in eliminating or minimizing the establishment of upper entry age limits for public employment, especially for jobs at the entry or "junior" level. 9. That workmen's compensation experience of the state, counties, and cities should be studied for realistic information as to costs, duration of claims by age of claimant, and the incidence of such claims in relation to public employees. 10. That the State Employees Retirement System or other appropriate agencies further explore possibilities of standardizing provisions of retirement plans among public agencies, so as to facilitate transfers of employees from one part of the governmental system to another. 11. That the possibility should be considered of giving recognition to prior qualifying experience for admission to the Safety Members and County Peace Officers' Retirement Systems even though retirement credits may not be given for such experience within these retirement plans. 12. That the educational institutions of California be encouraged to remove upper age limitations on scholarships and fellowships which prevent mature workers in governmental service (as well as private industry) from securing needed college or university training to improve their educational level and competency. 13. That legislation be enacted for a State Portable Pension Plan, as recommended in a report to the 1965 Legislature by the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Aging and the Department of Employment. It is hoped that the Legislature will again consider this recommendation and take favorable action, since the service requirements of the various retirement systems are a serious factor in age discrimination in public agencies. LEGAL PROVISIONS ON AGE Age discrimination in state, county, and municipal employment is in general prohibited by the State Government Code with a few exceptions, mainly, for peace officers, firemen, trainee and safety positions. The Federal Government imposes no upper age limits on regular civil service employment, other than the retirement age of 70. The policy of the State of California on age discrimination in employment is stated in the Unemployment Insurance Code, Section 2070-2078. The following quotations from the Code summarizes the state's official policy: "2070. It is the public policy of the State of California that manpower should be used to its fullest extent. This statement of policy compels the further conclusion that human beings seeking employment, or retention thereof, should be judged fairly and without resort to rigid and unsound rules that operate to disqualify significant portions of the population from gainful and useful employment. Accordingly, use by employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations of arbitrary and unreasonable rules which bar or terminate employment on the ground of age offend the public policy of this State. "2072. It is unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire or employ; or to discharge, dismiss, reduce, suspend, or demote any individual between the ages of 40 and 64 solely on the ground of age, except in cases where the law compels or provides for such action. This section shall not be construed to make unlawful the rejection or termination of employment where the individual applicant or employee failed to meet bona fide requirements for the job or position sought or held, or to affect bona fide retirement or pension. programs; nor shall this section preclude such physical and medical examinations of applicants and employees as an employer may make or have made to determine fitness for the job or position sought or held. . . . "This section shall not limit the right of an employer, employment agency, or labor union to select or refer the better qualified person from among all applicants for a job. . . added) (Emphasis Other provisions in the Government Code and statutes relating to age in employment are briefed in the following paragraphs: |