State Senate Panel Hears Pros, Cons of Rule Forcing Retirement

Firefighter Bob Pasqua is a rock of a man. At 62, when many of his contemporaries are settling into retirement, he keeps fit by running four miles a day and bench pressing hundreds of pounds.

Yet despite his physical abilities, Pasqua was forced to quit his job as a Los Angeles County Fire Department captain earlier this year because of a policy that requires all county firefighters and sheriff’s deputies over 60 to retire.

On Tuesday, Pasqua and a group of reluctant retirees urged a state Senate committee to endorse proposed legislation that would enable the county to repeal its policy and allow the veteran employees to return to work.

“There are people much younger than us who are in far poorer shape, physically and mentally,” Pasqua told the state Senate Committee on Public Employment and Retirement during a hearing in Glendale. “I didn’t like it when they said, ‘You have to hang up your helmet.’ I wasn’t ready.”

Thirty-four firefighters and sheriff’s deputies will be required to retire by the end of this year, and another 130 will have to quit by the turn of the century, under the county’s rule.

County officials say they are required to enforce the mandatory retirement policy because of state law, and that they need the state’s permission to alter it. The county Board of Supervisors decided to seek legislation to do just that after several veteran firefighters and sheriff’s deputies lodged complaints earlier this year.

With the backing of the county, state Sen. William Knight (R-Palmdale) introduced legislation that would end the retirement policy and allow the retirees to return to their jobs. (At the same time, the board has decided not to apply the mandatory retirement rule to new employees.)

Some of the retirees told the Senate committee Tuesday that they have been forced out so that younger colleagues can rise through the ranks.

“I never realized that I would be penalized for doing my job,” said Carol Painter, a former Sheriff’s Department commander for East Los Angeles and the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys who turned 60 last July. “It came as a shock that I had lost all control of my career and would be forced out.”

The veteran workers have allies in Sheriff Sherman Block and County Fire Chief Michael Freeman, who have both said they oppose a blanket policy that fails to consider the merits of individual cases.

But police and firefighter unions--the policy’s primary proponents--say that mandatory retirement rules are necessary.

“The purpose of the retirement system is to have a young work force to protect the public,” Steve Baker, a spokesman for the Police Officers Research Assn. of California, told the Senate committee.

Cody Ferguson, director of retirement affairs for the Los Angeles County Fire Fighters Local 1014, echoed Baker’s sentiments. He also acknowledged that part of the purpose of such rules is to open doors of advancement to younger employees.

“This is a young man’s job,” said Ferguson, 54, an L.A. county fire captain. “I have no intention of working until age 60. Most firefighters start looking at retirement around age 55.”

Two committee members--its chairman, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Sen. John Burton (D-San Francisco)--asked why older workers are unfit to perform their jobs. The two asked whether the veteran firefighters and deputies would be willing to take physical tests every other year to ensure their capabilities.

“Bring on the test,” former Fire Capt. Robert Contreras, 62, told the committee. “I could pass it just the way it’s made.”

Contreras and Pasqua are both working as independent contractors for the county Fire Department while the legislation gets resolved. The county allows the retirees to work 120 days a year as contractors.

Dave Winkler, a deputy assigned to the sheriff’s West Hollywood station, also is working as a contractor. He said that his 35 years with the department and his commitment to staying in top physical shape demonstrate his commitment to the job.

“In other cultures, older people are revered for their wisdom, said Winkler, 60. “In our society, it seems to be just the opposite.”