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History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Lifts mandatory hiring and retirement ages for state and municipal police
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Employees · Sponsor Dennis H. Gabryszak
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the civil service law and the executive law, in relation to lifting mandatory hiring and retirement ages for state and municipal police
Purpose
To remove mandatory hiring and retirement ages for state and municipal police.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends section 58 of the civil service law to remove the maximum hiring age of 35 for municipal law enforcement officers.
Section 2: Amends section 215 of the executive law to remove the maximum hiring age of 29 for state police, while keeping the minimum age of 21 intact.
Section 3: Enacting clause.
Existing law
Current law sets a maximum hiring age of 35 for municipal police officers, and 29 for state police officers.
Justification
New York is one of the only states to impose a hiring age limit on its law enforcement officers. This statewide law, however, is not grounded in empirical or scientific information. In effect, the current law does little more than exclude qualified candidates based on one and only one factor.
In a 1993 Pennsylvania State University study, (Alternatives to Chronological Age in Determining Standards of Suitability for Public Safety Jobs) researchers found no correlation between age and physical ability. Instead, they discovered that lifestyle variables, such as exercise and diet, are much more relevant for determining a law enforcement officer's ability to perform his or her work effectively. Because the 19B6 Age Discrimination in Employment Act designated hiring discrimination based on age as a violation of equal opportunity practices, but exemptions for several categories of employment, including law enforcement, researchers recommended allowing these provisions to sunset on schedule.
As a result, New York did not have a maximum hiring age between 1994 and 1999.
A hiring age limit today does little more than shrink the pool of eligible candidates to join New York's law enforcement ranks. Current medical advances and longer life expectancy make age alone a poor indicator of a candidate's ability to effectively serve in a law enforcement capacity. A repeal of this cap would help bring in the best talent available, and give police departments the widest leverage in picking the most qualified individuals. This bill would also not alter any of the other physical or psychological requirements law enforcement candidates must satisfy, ensuring that New York's police are prepared for the job before them.
This bill also addresses another discrepancy in law enforcement hiring practices. Currently, neither Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority officers nor part-time police must satisfy a maximum age limit. consequently, this bill would treat all of New York's law enforcement officers equally.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
On the 180th day after becoming law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.