24 Fair empl.prac.cas. 1010, 24 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 31,267 Ruth S. Lamb v. Scripps College, Ruth S. Lamb v. Scripps College

This action challenges the constitutionality of a California statute which permits, without requiring, the compulsory retirement by private employers of tenured private college professors aged 65 to 69. Plaintiff Ruth S. Lamb argues that the challenged statute violates the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment by distinguishing irrationally between tenured private college professors aged 65 to 69 and other employees, and between tenured private college professors aged 65 to 69 and those younger than 65 and older than 69. Lamb seeks reinstatement and monetary damages. We agree with the district court that the challenged provision satisfies the rational basis standard of equal protection review and therefore affirm the district court’s dismissal of the action.

I.

When first enacted in 1972, California Labor Code § 1420.1(a) prohibited age-based employment discrimination against individuals between the ages of 40 and 64. Section 1420.1(a) was amended, effective January 1, 1978 (“the 1978 amendment”) to extend protection to any individual “over the age of 40,” thereby protecting, for the first time, individuals aged 65 and over. The protections afforded employees over…