CLIENT ALERT MEMORANDUM
February 5, 2003
To: All Police Chiefs and Sheriffs
From: Martin J. Mayer
DISABLED PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS TO RECEIVE BENEFITS IN HISTORIC EEOC SETTLEMENT FOR AGE DISCRIMINATION
Until 1980, public safety officers disabled by a job injury were eligible for an Industrial Disability Retirement (“IDR”) equal to fifty (50) percent of their salary. The legislature, at that time, enacted California Government Code section 21417 which reduced the fifty percent IDR benefits, for each year over age 30 that a public safety officer was hired.
In 1995, a former police officer and six other disabled retirees filed a lawsuit challenging the scheme based on an age discrimination claim. The officer’s argument was they suffered discrimination because their IDR benefits were reduced in proportion to their age at hire.
The settlement of Arnett and EEOC v. California Public Retirement System (“CalPERS”) provides approximately fifty (50) million dollars to the state and local public safety officers for reduced IDR benefits in the past. In addition, CalPERS will adjust future payments to eliminate the age-related disparity, calculated at approximately two hundred
(200) million dollars to be paid out over the remainder of the officers’ lifetimes.
The settlement effectively destroys Government Code section 21417 and is retroactive, covering claims from October 1992. This settlement is the largest settlement for any discrimination case brought by the EEOC and is a great success for law enforcement across the State of California.
HOW THIS EFFECTS YOUR AGENCY
Although the direct impact of the settlement will be felt by CalPERS, we advise your department to research its records of IDR claims as officers receiving IDR benefits from CalPERS may be entitled to an increase in those benefits if their claim was filed within the retroactive time frame of the settlement.
We urge that you confer with your department’s legal counsel before changing any policies based on this information. As always, if you have any questions and/or comments regarding this matter, feel free to contact Martin Mayer at (714) 446-1400 or MJM@Jones-Mayer.com.
[The Law Offices of Jones & Mayer located in Fullerton, California focus its practice on representing the interests of public entities as its City Attorney, in labor negotiations, in defending tort litigation and civil rights litigation. Martin Mayer focuses his practice in the area of representing cities, counties and the State on matters arising out of their respective law enforcement agencies.]
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