Campbell

I

The facts here are undisputed. Respondent Board of Administration (Board) of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) provides retirement benefits to Santa Clara County employees on a contract basis. County employees covered by PERS have been generally divided into two categories, local safety members and local miscellaneous members. The safety members are engaged in the more hazardous occupations, such as fire fighting and law enforcement. The remainder of the Santa Clara County employees fall into the miscellaneous category. The retirement benefits for the safety members are different from those of the miscellaneous category members; they may retire at an earlier age, receive higher monthly benefits upon retirement, and do not make contributions to the Social Security system. The members of the safety category also contribute a greater portion of their wages to the PERS fund. Bailiffs in the Santa Clara County court system had been classified as “miscellaneous.”

Prior to 1973, appellant Campbell, a bailiff, sought retirement coverage as a “safety” member, claiming that bailiffs had been incorrectly classified as “miscellaneous” members. The Board denied his…