Mandatory retirement age bill clears subcommittee
H.R. 849, which would permanently exempt public safety workers from the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), was approved in February 1994 by voice vote of the Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee of the House Economics and Educational Opportunities Committee (HEEOC). The measure would allow local law enforcement agencies and fire departments to set mandatory retirement ages for their employees and maximum entry ages for recruits and to incorporate the rules into the agencies` overall personnel policies.
Because of the physically and mentally demanding nature of their jobs, public safety workers had been exempted from the ADEA by Congress in 1986; but the exemption expired at the end of 1993.
According to Rep. Harris W. Fawell (R-IL), chairman of the subcommittee and the bill`s chief sponsor, the proposal is supported by an alliance of Democrats, Republicans, labor unions, and employers. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) opposes it. The measure now must be taken up by the HEEOC and the Senate.
