ASSEMBLY, No. 2999
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED JUNE 5, 1997
By Assemblymen ASSELTA and GIBSON
An Act concerning the appointment of certain persons over 35 years of age to certain public safety positions and their enrollment in and retirement under the Police and Firemen's Retirement System, supplementing chapter 14 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes and P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.40A:14-12 or any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, in any municipality wherein Title 11A (Civil Service) of the New Jersey Statutes is operative, any person who, under applicable law in effect on September 29, 1996, was eligible for appointment to the position of member or officer of a paid fire department or force in the municipality or paid member or officer of a part-paid fire department or force in the municipality, and whose name is included on a list of eligibles for such appointment that was promulgated as a result of a civil service examination for which the closing date was February 25, 1997 or earlier, shall be considered within the age requirement applicable to the position for so long as that list, or any list resulting from the consolidation of that list with another list of eligibles, remains in effect.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.40A:14-127 or any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, in any municipality wherein Title 11A (Civil Service) of the New Jersey Statutes is operative, any person who, under applicable law in effect on September 29, 1996, was eligible for appointment to the position of member or officer of the police department or force in the municipality, and whose name is included on a list of eligibles for such appointment that was promulgated as a result of a civil service examination for which the closing date was February 25, 1997 or earlier, shall be considered within the age requirement applicable to the position for so long as that list, or any list resulting from the consolidation of that list with another list of eligibles, remains in effect.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-1 et seq.) or any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any person to whom the provisions of section 1 or section 2 of P.L. , c. (now pending before the Legislature as this bill) apply who becomes a fireman or policeman shall, irrespective of age, be enrolled as a member of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System upon furnishing to the retirement system such current evidence of good health as the retirement system shall require; and if the person shall during continuance of membership in the retirement system attain 65 years of age without having established 25 years of creditable service, the person shall be permitted to continue such membership after attainment of that age until the first day of the calendar month immediately following the calendar month in which the member establishes 25 years of creditable service, whereupon the member shall be retired.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits certain otherwise overage individuals to qualify for appointment to police or fire officer positions in local Civil Service jurisdictions and for their enrollment in the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) and, in certain cases, continued membership in the system beyond the ordinary age of mandatory retirement.
Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes restricts appointment in any municipality of a member of a police or paid fire department, or a paid member of a part-paid fire department, to persons who are at least 21 but not over 35 years of age (N.J.S.A.40A:14-12 and -127). Similarly, the statute governing PFRS restricts membership in the retirement system to persons not over 35 years of age at the time of appointment to a position covered by the retirement system (N.J.S.A.43:16A-3). In Formal Opinion No. 1 (1984), the Attorney General of New Jersey found these age restrictions invalid and unenforceable under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. §621 et seq. Subsequent federal legislation (the ADEA amendments of 1986) temporarily authorized the several states to enforce such hiring age restrictions for law enforcement and firefighter personnel as were in effect on March 3, 1983, and New Jersey accordingly reimplemented its restrictions; see Attorney General Opinion No. 87-0012 (February 11, 1987). This temporary authorization lapsed, however, on December 31, 1993, and New Jersey's age restrictions on public safety employee hiring were again suspended; see Attorney General Opinion No. 94-0072 (May 17, 1994). Most recently, on September 30, 1996, Congress enacted a revival of the 1986 "public safety exemption" to the ADEA, and on February 25, 1997, New Jersey's Attorney General directed that the age-35 hiring limits be reimposed; see Formal Opinion No. 1 - 1997.
This bill addresses the situation of certain individuals seeking appointment to police and fire positions in certain municipalities who, though older than age 35, were eligible for such appointment under the law as it existed prior to the 1996 federal legislation reviving the "public safety exemption", but who lost that eligibility as the result of New Jersey's reimposition of its age restriction on public safety personnel hiring pursuant to that federal legislation. The bill provides that, in any political subdivision operating under the Civil Service law, a person who was eligible under the law prior to the 1996 revision for appointment to a police or fire position in the municipality and named on a list of eligibles for such appointment that was promulgated on the basis of any civil service examination, the closing date for which fell on or before the date on which the Attorney General issued F.O. No. 1 of 1997, shall be considered within the age requirement applicable to the position as long as that list, or any list resulting from the consolidation of that list with another list of eligibles, remains in effect. In addition, the bill provides that upon such appointment, the person shall be eligible for enrollment in PFRS irrespective of age and, if unable to complete 25 years of service prior to attainment of 65 years (the ordinary age of mandatory retirement), will be allowed to continue in active service past age 65 until completing 25 years of creditable service.
Permits certain persons over 35 years of age to be appointed to certain public safety positions and enrolled in PFRS; allows them to serve past age 65 in certain cases.