Legal Question in Employment Law in Maryland

Physical Agility

I am a police captain, with my department for 25 years. Officers with 25 or more years have been offered a buyout. It has been made clear through meetings with town officials that the purpose of the buyout is to get rid of the ''old guys'' to make room for younger officers to get promoted. Also, it was advised to take the buyout or we would be sorry. Transfers and assignments have already taken place. City officials have threatened to institute a physical agility test to get rid of the ''old guys''. There was no physical agility testing done when I was hired, however for the past 10 yrs., a physical agility test is required for new recuits to be hired. There is no annual physical test for any officer, once hired, at this time. Can city official enforce a physical agility requirement to force older officers out?


Asked on 8/17/02, 9:58 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Ana Avenda�o Law Office of Ana Avenda�o

Re: Physical Agility

The short answer is that an employer can't force people out because they are old--in other words, age is a protected category. The instigation of a the agility test is intersting--the employer will argue that the test in not age-based, but is performance-based, and you would have to show that the test is a pretext. There is a large body of law on tests as pretext--and the analysis is very fact-specific (it depends on the job and what the test is.)

There's one issue that you need to think about first: have you filed a grievance with your union? (I assume you have a union) If you haven't, then you may not be able to file a lawsuit later. If you don't have a union, or the union does nothing with the grievance, then you still preserve the right to take legal action in court later.

You should talk to an attorey if you're concerned about losing your job. I'd be happy to talk to you. You can email me at [email protected] and we can set up a phone or in-person consultation.

Good Luck.

Ana Avenda�o, Esq.

Read more
Answered on 8/17/02, 7:41 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Maryland