• 12941. Discrimination based on age is prohibited.
• 12942. Written notice to employer that person desires to work past age set forth in private pension or retirement plan.

Sec. 12941. Age discrimination; Rejection of Marks v. Loral Corp. (2 of 2 Versions; Effective Jan. 1, 2003)]. The Legislature hereby declares its rejection of the court of appeal opinion in Marks v. Loral Corp. (1997) 57 Cal.App.4th 30, and states that the opinion does not affect existing law in any way, including, but not limited to, the law pertaining to disparate treatment. The Legislature declares its intent that the use of salary as the basis for differentiating between employees when terminating employment may be found to constitute age discrimination if use of that criterion adversely impacts older workers as a group, and further declares its intent that the disparate impact theory of proof may be used in claims of age discrimination. The Legislature further reaffirms and declares its intent that the courts interpret the state's statutes prohibiting age discrimination in employment broadly and vigorously, in a manner comparable to prohibitions against sex and race discrimination, and with the goal of not only protecting older workers as individuals, but also of protecting older workers as a group, since they face unique obstacles in the later phases of their careers. Nothing in this section shall limit the affirmative defenses traditionally available in employment discrimination cases including, but not limited to, those set forth in Section 7286.7 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations.

12942. Every employer in this state shall permit any employee who indicates in writing a desire in a reasonable time and can demonstrate the ability to do so, to continue his or her employment beyond any retirement date contained in any private pension or retirement plan. This employment shall continue so long as the employee demonstrates his or her ability to perform the functions of the job adequately and the employer is satisfied with the quality of work performed. Any employee indicating this desire and continuing the employment shall give the employer written notice in reasonable time, of intent to retire or terminate when the retirement or termination occurs after the employee's retirement date. Nothing in this section or Section 12941 shall be construed to prohibit any of the following: (a) To prohibit an institution of higher education, as defined by Section 1141(a) of Title 20 of the United States Code, from imposing a retirement policy for tenured faculty members, provided that the institution has a policy permitting reemployment of these individuals on a year-to-year basis. (b) To prohibit compulsory retirement of any employee who has attained 70 years of age and is a physician employed by a professional medical corporation, the articles or bylaws of which provide for compulsory retirement. (c) To prohibit compulsory retirement of any employee who has attained 65 years of age and who for the two-year period immediately before retirement was employed in a bona fide executive or a high policymaking position, if that employee is entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit from a pension, profit sharing, savings, or deferred compensation plan, or any combination of those plans, of the employer for the employee, which equals in the aggregate at least twenty seven thousand dollars ($27,000).


California employment disrimination law is located in the California Codes Annotated, Government Code, Title 2, Division 3, Part 2.8, in the sections below. California also has a variety of other employment discrimination laws which are not covered here, including: discrimination in state employment, discrimination on the basis of political activities, discrimination against volunteer firefighters, peace officers and emergency personnel, discrimination against those who file labor complaints, discrimination against persons who take blood tests for AIDS, discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages, discrimination against whistleblowers, and discrimination on the basis of a record of arrests.